


On The Edge Of Madness

by Rhiannon_A_Christy



Series: On The Edge of Madness [1]
Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), Thor (Movies)
Genre: AU after Avengers, Amnesia, Darcy must make a choice, F/M, Loki learns a lesson, Magic Induced Amnesia, first tasertricks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-17
Updated: 2015-01-16
Packaged: 2018-03-01 23:08:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2791085
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rhiannon_A_Christy/pseuds/Rhiannon_A_Christy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Darcy lived by a certain set of rules. Never stand by and do nothing when someone was being abused, and everyone deserves a second chance: Alone and with no knowledge of who he was, Loki is left to the mercy of those he had once tried to destroy. Could Loki's redemption lie in the heart of a simple mortal girl, or does that heart already belong to another man?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Preface

**Author's Note:**

> Quick note: This is the first long MCU fic I wrote, and it has been awhile. So it is totally AU from the first Avengers on and I really don't have the characterazations down well. Anyway, I just thought I would post all of my MCU stuff on here, so here we go...

Never before had the palace of Asgard been so silent. A silence that both smothered and intensified sound. The inhabitants had before mourned, but never had they been so conflicted, bouncing back and forth between anger and sorrow.

Odin sat upon his throne, the very picture of regality. Only those that knew him intimately could read the lines upon his face. For them, there was a book written in every wrinkle.

Frigga sighed, but remained at her husband's side as her sons kneeled before their father. She remembered a time when they had done so willingly, with smiles of pride and love on their faces. But now, the scene she saw before her made her stomach churn and her heart shatter. Thor, her oldest and only child of her womb, stood as sentinel beside the son of her heart. That youngest, and as much loved son, bound in chains and muzzled as a wild beast.

Her hands itched to tear those fetters from her son and settle him at her breast like a babe. She wished more than anything to reach into Loki to find what sliver of her sweet child remained, and pull it out for her husband to see. She knew what would happen in the end, Loki was not like Thor, every punishment would be stacked up within his soul. One by one he would collect them like a bird with glittering stones, and when he had more than he could hold, they would once again overflow and her son would burst from the pressure. She feared what horrors awaited them next time.

"Loki Odinson, you have been brought before your King to answer for your crimes against the Realms of Asgard, Jotunheim, and Midgard. You willfully, with calculated intent brought harm to others. You wittingly lead an army to an unprepared and woefully under-armed planet, causing the injury and deaths of innocents.

"I have been lenient with you in the past in regards to your other transgressions. But I find myself unable to forgive attempted genocide so lightly." Frigga clutched at her skirts and she awaited her son's sentence. She watched as Thor's back stiffened as he listened to his father. She had only one hope, that her husband would be merciful. How could he sentence one to death that he had claimed so? If Loki was to be executed, would he have named him Odinson in front of the court?

"I have yet to find a punishment suitable enough to fit your crimes, and so it is my ruling that for the foreseeable future you are to be interned within your chambers until a suitable punishment presents itself.

"Be thankful, Loki Odinson, that I have not deemed it necessary to order your life taken this day." Frigga let go of her skirts as Odin waved his hands and armed guards escorted Loki from the room. Though her fears over her son's life remained as she gazed at her husband. There was yet time for him to change his mind and execute Loki.

With no word to her husband or remaining son she departed. She had stood by and watched as one son had been exiled, she would not allow Odin to permanently take her other son away from her. It was time that she took matters into her own hands.

* * *

The stillness of night overtook the palace. Sconces littered about the walls, flickered with small fires to chase away the darkness and what monsters might reside within it. Frigga moved silently through the halls, concerned little with fiends, nightmares, and all terrifying beasts that resided in the imagination of children. She knew the worst of monsters lived in one's own soul, and no fire could ever frighten them away.

The guards that stood watch over her son's room said nothing as she approached. Loyal and under her command, they opened the door and waited silently while she entered.

Loki looked up from where he had been sitting, his book forgotten in his lap. The chains and muzzle had been removed, but Frigga mused that his posture showed no difference. He wore the lock upon his room as he had the one upon his wrist.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, Mother? Come to give me the platitudes and gentle mercies of mothers of the condemned? To take me to your breast so I may suckle and be given comfort of a much loved son, before your husband commands my head? Come, sit and bare, Mother." A pang shot through Frigga's chest, Loki's words cutting through with a knife's point. She walked further in, careful in her step. She knew her son well, and knew he was poised to strike. A wounded beast cornered in his cave.

"I have never acted out of anything but love, Loki. I do not deserve your derision." Loki stood, his book falling to the floor as he made to confront his mother.

"No, not for a lack of love, but for your inability to act a mother and stay your husband's hand when he strikes too hard. For that you deserve a world of scorn." Frigga stopped where she stood, careful to keep her tears hidden.

"He is more than my husband, he is my king. I am forbidden the freedoms of normal wives, bound to obey so I do not undermine his command before all of Asgard." Though, not that she hadn't railed against him beyond the public eye, but Odin was steadfast in his word.

"So, what brings you here then? To obey your master, to gleefully bid your son goodbye?" By then Loki had made his way fully to his mother, towering over her with a calm menace.

"Your Father does not know I'm here. I have come to you as a mother, as your mother, and beg that you repent. I know that my son is still in there. Please Loki, I can _not_ loose you." Frigga watched as Loki sneered, twisting away from her to return to his earlier seat.

"Would you kneel before me, Mother? Beg like a common tramp, dirty your skirts?" Not hesitating in her actions, Frigga crossed the room and kneeled before her son. She showed no shame in looking up to him, she would be nothing less than what she was.

"You soil your silk for nothing, Mother. I have done nothing for which I should repent, nothing more than attempt to claim what should have been mine." Frigga nodded, her son was so far gone. Simple words could no longer penetrate.

"Then there is only one thing that can be done now." Loki looked down at her, his lips curled in an evil smirk.

"Would you really sentence your son to die? Could you live with my blood on your hands. Would that stain ever fade from your silks?" She shook her head as she stood up before him.

"You will not die this day, or the next. I will not allow your Father to bring harm to you. I refuse to loose my son." Loki readied himself to stand, a retort on his lips when Frigga leaned down to grab a hold of his face. Before he could utter a word she pressed her lips to his in a motherly kiss.

As she pulled back, Loki opened his mouth to speak, but his words died on his lips as his body slumped backward in his chair. She took a moment to run her fingers through his hair, smoothing it back as she had when he was a child. Offering what comfort she could, but for which of them she didn't know.

She opened the door then, signaling the guards to enter. She watched as they carried her son away, sighing once the room had emptied to all but her.

"Maybe one day you will be able to forgive me, but I will not loose my son. Hate me if you will, but come back all the same."

* * *

Morning arrived with little fanfare, all seemed right within the palace. It was an illusion that Frigga knew had been shattered when Odin marched into the great room, his face blazing with anger.

"Have I not suffered enough at the hands of my family?! To be betrayed by both my sons, should I have to suffer the treachery of my own wife as well?!" Odin's voice echoed through the vast hall, growing with rage with each word.

"Have I not suffered enough at the hands of my own husband? To have been denied once one son with little thought, should I have to watch as the other is destroyed?" Odin stopped in his steps, his anger still palpable, but yet with an air of caution.

"Where have you hidden him? I will not have my rule undermined." Frigga held her ground, it was time that Odin realized he didn't always know best.

"He is safe and out of your reach, that is all you need know." Odin clenched his hands at his side at Frigga's defiance.

"As your King I demand you reveal his hiding place." Taking a deep breath, Frigga steeled herself, for what she had done and would say could be considered treason. Her husband was within his rights to punish her.

"And as a mother I refuse. Odin, my husband, can you not see that it was us that has created what Loki has become? We have failed him, we have _all_ failed him, and now we must deal with the monster our neglect has created.

"I have sent Loki where he may heal. I have given him a test, just like you had Thor. His crimes are severe, but were not Thor's? Should he not be given the same chance his brother did? To learn a lesson and return home?" Odin faltered for a moment, but only a moment. Frigga saw his argument in his eyes and cut him off before he had a chance to even open his mouth.

"Enough is enough! Do not make me choose between you and my sons, Husband. For I will choose my sons every time." Not giving Odin a chance to respond, Frigga gathered her skirts and marched from the room.

Neither husband nor wife noticed the figure behind a pillar, his back resting against the gilded stone. Thor closed his eyes and smiled, for once, he had hope.


	2. When Weird Comes Knocking

Flicking off the cap of a gallon of distilled water, Darcy let her mind wander. It was something that had started when she had taken the internship with Jane, hours of mind-numbing filing and sitting in the desert tended to lend itself to daydreaming.

The thought of her old boss led her mind to the subject she had tried to avoid for months. New Mexico, Thor, and the fact that there really were aliens and magic out there. Sure, she had dreamed and hoped as a child. Though one look at her now one would never believe it, but as a kid she had been a real girly-girl. Pink princess dresses, several tiaras all lined up on her dresser. My Little Pony posters on the walls, a Pretty, Pretty Princess game always set up in the corner. To her ever-living embarrassment she had spent her first grade year demanding that everyone call her Princess Darcy. Her parents had even allowed her to wear her princess dresses and tiaras to school. To that day Darcy had an uncle that refused to drop it, bowing every time she entered the room.

She laughed to herself, knowing had her younger self known she would one day meet a prince, a real live prince, she would have squealed. The fact that said prince was an alien god wouldn't have mattered, it probably would have just made her faint from excitement while she imagined some fairytale land up in the sky.

Darcy sighed and set the gallon down on the counter, absentmindedly reaching for the coffee filters. She wasn't that little girl anymore, the reality of magic and princes gave her no joy. Just sheer and utter terror.

She had hid it well when Thor's brother sent his Metal Man of Doom. She had been too busy trying to keep others alive, helping them out of town and away from the death rays. But in reality she had been terrified. She had wanted nothing more than to run and hide in a corner. When she had told Erik that, he had informed her that that was true courage, to do what needed to be done when scared. She had just stuck her tongue out and went to check on Jane.

Still, the fear that was left over from that day had brought Darcy to a decision. She wanted boring, plain old boring. She didn't plan on ever allowing herself to be put in that kind of situation again. She wanted nothing more to do with fantasy and sci-fi, or anything that could be classified as weird.

Maybe she had taken it all just a little bit too far. Her Lord of the Rings dvds ended up in the trash alongside her Harry Potter books, the station was quickly changed when Dr. Who came on. It was bit extreme, but she was tired.

So when Jane had asked her to stay on permanently, Darcy had quickly informed her of her plans to finish school and find some quite little job somewhere no alien would ever think of going.

And that was how she ended up in the middle of nowhere, working as a secretary for a small town lawyer. She figured she could contemplate on what to do with her life next in between fetching coffee and filing papers. Something she found out was actually harder than she had anticipated.

What did one do when they found out everything they ever knew was wrong? When they had become friends with an alien that thought he was a god, when one survived being attacked by a big ass, fire breathing, metal robot? She wasn't sure, and that was why she spent her days getting coffee for Curtis Sr. of Curtis and Sons Law Firm.

Darcy opened the coffee pot, reaching in to grab the old grounds and toss the moist thing in the trash. She ignored everything around her as she added a new filter, grounds and got ready to pour the water. She really didn't need to pay attention to anything, making coffee was like breathing for her now. Not that there was nothing to pay attention to anyway.

The break room was silent, but for the small tv in the corner that was always tuned to CNN. The other secretaries were hard at work, Matty chewing gum and filing her nails, Robyn clicking away on her computer, doing actual work. Tess was nowhere to be seen, Darcy knew she was most likely in Glen Curtis' office, scuffing up the knees of her dress pants. All in all it was a normal day.

She was just pouring the water in the machine when she realized how wrong she had been. It seemed that Weird hadn't just come for a onetime visit. She noticed the sounds of screaming first, but it was the journalists' comment about aliens that gotten her attention. When she looked over to the tv, it was to CNN broadcasting an image of New York, and she didn't need to be a genius to figure out that Weird had come calling again.

She watched in horror as several freaky ass aliens used cars and people as target practice. She wanted to curl up on the floor, rocking back and forth and muttering 'why me,' but watching as men, women and children ran away in terror kept her standing. So transfixed was she, that she ended up overfilling the coffee machine, getting water all over the counter and floor.

"Fuck!" The curse that flew from her mouth echoed in the room at the same time that someone had screamed on the television. Her eyes widened when she looked up and caught the image of Thor flying across the screen, his hammer in hand.

"Oh, fuckity fuck!" Coffee forgotten, she moved to stand in front of the screen, watching without blinking as the camera panned from Thor to Iron Man, to the Hulk, and to Captain America?! Really?! What the ever-living fuck?!

The call from Jane just days ago about a job in Tromso suddenly made sense. She knew Jane would be spitting nails once she got word that Thor was back on Earth. S.H.I.E.L.D. was about to find out just how loud their mousy little Jane could get.

"Ms. Lewis! Surely it doesn't take this long to make a pot of coffee." Curtis Sr. called from his office, distracting Darcy from the tv coverage. She sighed and worked to quickly start the coffee, glad that she had the foresight to empty the last cup from the old pot into a cup. She quickly heated up the coffee, all the while trying to catch whatever she could about what was happening in New York. Trying to catch just one more glimpse of Thor to make sure he was alright.

"Ms. Lewis! Coffee. Now!" Darcy removed her gaze from the tv and stirred in a spoon of sugar. She laughed to herself as she ran off to Curtis Sr.'s office. She allowed herself to imagine herself dressed as Snow White, poison ring on her finger. The image of New York for the moment gone as she daydreamed about what she would like to do to her bosses. 9 to 5 style.

* * *

The images didn't stay away long of course. By that night Darcy had calmed and the news broadcast played in her mind. It hadn't helped that once she turned on the tv, every station was broadcasting the video of what happened.

For days Darcy had been unable to get the images out of her mind. She had wondered on what Thor had been doing there, and why boring was starting to look…well boring.

She had heard rumors, both good and bad about the group that called themselves the Avengers. As she knew one of its members personally, she pretty much ignored all the bad press. In fact she had had it out with Tess at work about The Avengers. The woman had swore up and down that they had attracted the aliens, brought the fight to Earth and should be punished for what damage they had done. Darcy had tried her best to defend the group of super heroes, but there was only so much she could say before she knew a couple of men in black would show up at her door.

S.H.I.E.L.D. had made sure that her mouth had been stitched very tight after New Mexico. In fact she couldn't even tell people that she had been there during that time. _Officially_ she had been undergoing an internship in Montana.

Darcy was currently sitting on her couch, having a private pity party. It was stupid, but at the moment Darcy couldn't bring herself to care. She had woken up that morning feeling as though she had truly missed out on something great when she turned down Jane. So, instead of dressing in jeans and a hoodie as she normally would on her day off, she had slipped into a pair of torn and stained sweats and wrapped her hair in a crude bun on her head.

The ice cream she was eating straight from the carton, was dripping from her spoon. She ignored it, focusing instead on the ringing of her cellphone. She had a moment of hesitation, the lyrics to 'She Blinded Me With Science' alerted her to the fact it was Jane, and she wasn't sure she wanted to deal with that particular can of worms. In the end though she stuck her spoon in the carton and answered.

"What's the gist, Physicist?" Darcy had expected Jane to grumble about her greeting before going right into a rant about S.H.I.E.L.D.'s interference with Thor. What she hadn't expected was for Jane to be crying. Loudly, so loudly that Darcy couldn't make out a single word.

"Whoa, whoa Jane! Calm down, I don't speak sob." It took Darcy several minutes of talking, but she had calmed her down, finally.

"Ok, now, what happened? You seriously can't be that upset about not seeing Thor." Jane took a large breath on the other end of the line.

"Something happened to Erik. He…he…" A sick pain shot through her stomach and it took her a moment to calm down so she wouldn't end up yelling into the phone.

"What? Jane, what happened to Erik? Surely he wasn't in New York? Was he?!" The silence from Jane was enough of an answer. What the fuck had Erik been doing in New York? She knew he had been doing some kind of specialized work for S.H.I.E.L.D., but had kind of figured he would have been sent to Tromso with Jane.

"I can't actually tell you over the phone, Darc. But he was hurt, something…something bad happened. Darc?" Darcy closed her eyes at the small, squeaky quality of her voice.

"What's the matter Jane? What can I do?" She could hear the relieved sigh on the other end, and Darcy felt momentarily annoyed. Had Jane actually thought she would ignore her and Erik, refuse to help?

"I know it is a lot to ask Darc, mostly since I know you have a job, but do you think it would be possible to come out here to New York?" Darcy's eyes shot open, her brows straight up in her hairline.

"You're in New York?! Are you crazy woman?! I thought you were in Tromso?" Jane gave a watery laugh, it was weak, but still a laugh.

"I was, I just got back yesterday. I'm in New York because Erik is here. Please Darcy, it would only be for a couple of days, but he wants to see you." Feeling marginally better knowing that Jane hadn't been there during the attack, Darcy allowed her brows to return to their normal place. She knew what Jane really meant when she spoke, Erik might have wanted to see her, but Jane needed her. The woman didn't have many friends, even fewer female friends.

"Of course! I'm not heartless Jane, I would have come out even if you hadn't asked. The only thing is, how am I going to get there? All flights there have been cancelled, and from what I've heard, the streets are blocked off." She was sure she could figure out some way. Take a bus as far as she could go, rent a motorbike to take her the rest of the way, even walk if need be. But all that would take too long, and she wanted out there as fast as she could. All she could see was an image of Erik lying in a hospital bed, having half his body burned from an alien gun.

"That is all taken care of. We're…well we're sort of staying at Stark Tower. Tony has opened up all the available rooms to the Avengers and their family. Tony is already sending a private jet to bring you out. Someone should be at your apartment to pick you up tomorrow morning." Darcy blinked a couple of times, not able to speak. Tony Stark, The Tony Stark, was sending a jet. She would be staying in the same fucking house as Tony "Fuckhot" Stark! Wow….

"Darcy?" Shaking her head, Darcy smiled even though Jane couldn't see it.

"Yeah, sorry, that is just a lot to take in. Anyway, I'll be ready and see you when I get there, yeah?" Jane mumbled a 'yes' and quickly got off the phone. The woman never was one for phone talk.

Darcy just sat quietly for awhile after that. She tried not to think of the worst that could have happened to Erik, but her mind still came up with every bloody and terrifying possibility imaginable.

Erik had been the father figure of the three of them, always looking out for both her and Jane. He had even chased off one guy Darcy had been casually dating, when he had tried to take a goodnight kiss too far. Darcy would never forget the sight of Erik's fist making contact with Jerkface's nose, or the loud crunch and girl like squeal of the idiot. Nor would she forget having to clean up Erik's hand, or the fact that he had actually managed to break his middle finger.

Deciding it was best not to think about it until she actually got there to see him, Darcy went to pack. Before bed she left a message on her boss's voicemail that she had a family emergency and had to leave right away. That she wasn't sure when she would be back. She just hoped she had a job when she returned, even if it was boring.

* * *

Darcy was impressed. Wow, awesome, beautiful, magnificent, whatthefuckWoWthisshitisfuckawsome, didn't even begin to cover it. Stark Tower, even with the top half blown off, was possibly the coolest thing Darcy had ever seen. And that was counting everything that had happened to her that morning.

She had been impressed when the sharp dressed men had showed up at her door exactly at eight that morning, and as she had been impressed when she entered the limo, entered the jet, and again another limo once in New York. The fact was, she was just damn impressed.

She knew that Stark had money, hell, just what his father had made before him was more than enough to live off of comfortably, well more than actually, but where Tony took the company himself made him rich enough Darcy actually contemplated wearing low cut shirts while she was there. It never hurt to know one's options, and an iron sugar daddy could come in handy one day….like when she needed to pay off her school loans.

She shook her head, now was not the time, she squared her shoulders and followed the men inside and up a ways in an elevator that made most homes look shabby.

Darcy smiled as she entered the room the men had escorted her to. Jane had been waiting for her, standing in the middle of the room along with a redheaded woman.

"Darcy! Thank God you're here!" Jane flew to her, gathering her up in her arms, crying on her shoulder. The red-haired woman she had been talking to calmly walked up to them, patting Jane on the back and turning to give her a kind smile.

"Ms. Lewis, I'm Pepper Pots, welcome to Stark Tower." She held out a hand and Darcy awkwardly maneuvered an arm around Jane so she could shake it.

"Darcy, please, Ms. is just one step away from ma'am, and God forbid I'm old enough for that." Pepper laughed softly at that and dropped her hand. She gave a side glance at Jane, and Darcy had the fleeting thought that Pepper Pots was as uncomfortable around a weepy Jane as she was.

"Come on now, Jane. I'm here, no need to soak my shirt." Jane stood up straight, wiping her eyes with the back of her hand, and gave Darcy a sheepish smile.

"Sorry, it's just…a lot has been going on…and…" Darcy held up a hand, giving a soft laugh at her old boss and friend.

"And you probably haven't been sleeping." Jane nodded and gave another little smile. Darcy knew besides caring for Erik, she most likely was dealing with Thor and any and all sciencey stuff. Thinking of Erik, Darcy's smile fell off her face.

"Alright Jane, now what exactly happened?" Jane's own smile fell.

"I can only tell you what I know. I don't have a high enough clearance, so what I know is just what Erik and Tony have told me." A look passed over Pepper's features, though Darcy couldn't figure it out. It was like one part worried, one part amused, and a whole lot of sad.

"Erik has been working on a project for S.H.I.E.L.D. All very hush-hush of course, so I don't really know what, and Erik won't tell me. All I know is that Loki, Thor's brother, showed up where Erik was. From what I understand, he took over several people's minds, including Erik's and one of the Avengers." Darcy's eyes went wide. It was shocking enough to find out that Loki, master trickster, had shown up. But mind control?! Suddenly boring was looking attractive again. Jane must have taken Darcy's silence and expression as fear, because she held her hands up and started speaking quickly.

"Don't worry though, he's fine now. Totally out from under Loki's control. It is just, he is so tired. I don't think he got any sleep or food while Loki had him working." Jane didn't say how long he had been under the trickster's power, or just what he had been made to do, and Darcy found she really didn't want to know.

"Can I see him? Is he here or at the hospital?" Pepper spoke up first, her voice calm and professional like she was used to that sort of thing. Somewhere in the back of Darcy's mind she recalled that Stark had made a woman by the name of Pepper CEO awhile ago.

"He is here, Tony has invited everyone to stay. But I would wait to see him, Erik is resting right now. He seems to tire easily at the moment, but he will most likely be up in a couple of hours." Darcy nodded, Erik needed as much rest as he could get.

"Ms…Darcy, we have a room prepared for you while you're in New York. The tower was damaged in the battle, as you can see, but that is limited to the upper most floors. I assure you the rest of the tower is sound." Knowing she wouldn't find out anything more at that point, Darcy thanked Pepper and both her and Jane followed her to the room that had been set aside for her.

When Pepper left, Darcy turned to find Jane already sitting on the couch that was in her room.

"Ok, now that we have all that out of the way. How are _you_ Jane?" The scientist gave her a weak smile before letting it fall as she let her head fall back on the couch.

"Fine, sort of. I'm angry with what S.H.I.E.L.D. has done, of course. I mean, I have been working this whole time on figuring out a way to bring Thor back, and when he actually comes back I'm shipped off to Tromso like a wayward kid." Jane pinched her nose and sat fully up again as Darcy sat down beside her.

"Bruce, um…The Hulk…explained it to me when I started in on one of the agents. He said they weren't keeping Thor from me, but that Thor needed his whole attention on the battle with his brother and he couldn't do that if he was worrying about me.

"I get it, I really do, but I'm still mad." Darcy nodded. She could understand Jane's anger, the woman hadn't seen her boyfriend in forever. If she had been in Jane's place, she probably would have tried to hop on a plane to get to him.

They were both silent for a moment after that. A silence that was broken when Darcy just started laughing. Not big belly laughs, just small, ironic giggles. Jane gave her a confused look, she almost looked hurt. Darcy tried to quiet her laughing to explain.

"I'm not laughing at you, Jane. It is just, this is all too surreal. Alien attacks, alien gods, superheroes, staying in fucking Tony Stark's tower! Shit Jane, when I signed up for that internship I hadn't ever pictured any of this. You know, if you'd put that down on the internship you might've had more applications." Jane laughed along with her after that.

"How is Erik, really? It can't have been easy, having your mind taken over." Jane sobered up quickly, setting her head on the back of the couch again.

"He's holding up. He isn't as bad off as Hawkeye, the Avenger that Loki took, Erik hadn't killed anyone directly like he had. Still Erik is feeling guilty for his part in the battle by building the portal. With those two it doesn't matter that they weren't in control, they are both trying to take the blame." Darcy cringed at the thought of what either of them must have gone through. Did they remember what happened, or was it all like a dream?

"Don't worry, he will be fine eventually. Erik is a fighter, and you know he won't allow this to bring him down." Jane smiled and reached over to pull her into a hug.

"Thank you for coming, Darc. Erik really will be happy to see you, and…well I kind of need you around too. I hope you don't mind. I mean Pepper is great, but she wasn't there. In New Mexico I mean." They pulled away from the hug and Darcy swore she saw a few tears in the older woman's eyes.

"Don't worry about it. Now, why don't you help me unpack. My bag is a bit of a mess since I didn't have time last night. I'm not even sure if I have everything I'll need." Which was true enough. Darcy pretty much just grabbed and stuffed, she had been in such a hurry.

"If you didn't I have some things you could borrow, and if I don't have what you need just kind of throw it into conversation with Tony. That guy loves to throw around money. I mentioned you once and the next thing I know he had everything planned." Darcy laughed.

"I still can't believe that I'm staying in Tony Stark's tower!" Jane laughed along with her, knowing that if that was a shock to her she was in for a big surprise when Tony came to the breakfast table in nothing but boxers.

"By the way, where is Thor? I figured you two would be locked in a bedroom this whole time." Darcy recognized the pained expression on Jane's face and worried what the answer would be.

"Asgard. He had to return home with Loki so his brother could be punished. He was already gone by time I got here." Darcy wondered what kind of punishment people on Asgard doled out, she had read once about Loki having his mouth sewn shut. She shivered at the thought and wondered if that was standard, or if there was some form of normal punishment for trying to take over a planet.

Shrugging the thought off, she plugged in her phone by the bed and looked up to find Jane standing by the door.

"Come on, I'm sure you're hungry. There is nothing to cook, but I know there is some left over pizza from last night." Darcy's stomach growled, and vowing not to think on aliens, battles or punishments until she ate, Darcy followed Jane out of the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Darcy's greeting of course came from Big Bang Theory, the best show on TV, ever….well along with Duck Dynasty(OMG, I am not kidding when I say I know all those men….well that most of my family is just like that. Si is so freaking my grandfather! Who btw is a riverrat!)
> 
> Anyway, I digress, also for those that are confused about the Snow White line, watch 9 to 5, if you've ever had a boss you wanted to kill, that movie is the best.
> 
> Disclaimer:
> 
> **All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.**


	3. Hawks and Hospitals

It turned out that Erik was actually better than what Jane had said, though he did look tired. His skin was pale and sort of yellowed, dark purple bruises circled under his red-rimmed eyes.

Though Jane was right about one thing, Erik felt guilty about creating the portal. More than that, he had tried on more than one occasion to lay the blame of the dead on his shoulders. He had been going on and on about it one evening, Darcy soon grew annoyed and threatened to taser him if he didn't shut up. Erik's mouth had snapped closed, and he had yet to say anything more about it.

Days passed slowly in a surprisingly boring fashion. Erik got better, sleeping more, eating and socializing. Though the redness and bruises around his eyes remained. Darcy met and befriended Bruce as well as Tony. Two men that were alike in genius, but different in every other way possible. Bruce was sweet and quiet, where Tony was one very large, very loud asshole.

It had been two weeks, and Darcy was once again contemplating about what she would do with her life, now that her world had been proven wrong once again. Somehow it just seemed wrong to return to the life of a secretary, fetching coffee and managing files. Not that she actually had that job anymore.

Three days after she arrived, Curtis Sr. called to ask where the hell she was. She had tried to explain, family emergency, parent in hospital and all. It had seemed that the old man was buying it, and she figured she could probably have gotten extra vacation pay had Tony not thought it a good plan to grab her phone out of her hand. Darcy had then watched in horror as Tony made a rude comment about teddies and Sugar Daddies; she knew she should have kept her mouth shut about that; and when he had given her phone back her boss had promptly fired her. Something she was beginning to believe Tony had done on purpose. The man didn't seem to like being alone.

So now there she was, staying in Stark Tower. Though according to Tony, soon to be Avenger Tower. She had no job, rent due back home, not to mention her student loans. With what prospects she had ahead of her, alien invasion was looking pretty good.

Darcy made her way to the kitchen for breakfast, not looking forward to another day of cereal. Really, someone needed to learn how to cook, because she didn't think it was a good idea to have the Avengers trying to save the world with a junk food diet.

She knew that she would be the only one in the kitchen at that time of morning. The science nerds, aka Jane, Erik and Bruce, would be in the makeshift lab, working on something or other. Darcy had her credits, so she rarely ever paid attention when they went all Big Bang on her. And Tony was most likely up on the top floors with either construction workers or Pepper, overseeing the repairs.

So it was with some surprise that when she walked into the room she came face to…well ass….a very, very well shaped ass, of probably one of the hottest men she had ever seen.

He was bent at the waist, his top half leaning over the counter away from her, and she could see that he was munching on a bowl of what looked like Fruit Loops. She giggled a little, gaining the man's attention. He turned his head just slightly in her direction, giving her a once over. As his eyes traveled from the top of her head, down and back up again she realized that she was wearing nothing but an old college sweatshirt of her's, and a pair of boy shorts, though with her curves they fit more like cheekies.

"Stark Tower always did have the best view." Darcy fought the blush that tried to rise on her cheeks as he went back to eating his breakfast. She took a breath, and ignoring his comment, walked around him.

She could feel his eyes on her as she grabbed a box of Life and poured her own bowl. Once her cereal was sugared and covered in milk, she leaned back against the counter next to him and took a bite.

She studied him while they ate. He was sexy, yes. In that strong jawed, he could kill anyone with his bare hands kind of way. But there was something else about him, he looked very tired, he had the same red and purple circles under his eyes as Erik did.

"If you stare at me any harder, your brain might just explode." He didn't look up as he spoke, shoveling another spoonful of Fruit Loops in his mouth. She laughed a little, embarrassed to have been caught, but not coward enough to run away.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. I'm Darcy Lewis by the way." The man smiled, turning so he was facing her and leaning his hip on the counter.

"I know who you are. I was in New Mexico when Thor first arrived. I'm Clint Barton, or Hawkeye if it pleases you." The flirty smile he wore made his tired face look a little lighter.

"You're the other one that Loki brainwashed!" Seeing his flinch Darcy wished she had been born with that Brain-to-Mouth filter that most people had.

"Sorry, that was incredulously insensitive. I tend to just blurt out crap sometimes. Seriously though, I'm very sorry." Clint smiled at her again, only this time she noticed it was diminished.

"It's alright, but if it's all the same to you I would rather not talk about that time." Though his words could have been rude, they simply sounded tired. She noticed how different he seemed from Erik. She doubted he was getting enough sleep, or if he even had the support system that Erik had. That last thought made her want to cry.

"Alright, my lips are sealed about that. So, anyway, what are you doing here? I haven't seen you around since I've been here." He shrugged his shoulders, swallowing down another bite of his breakfast.

"Tony has invited all of us to stay here. So far besides Bruce and your friends, I'm the only one that agreed. I figure Thor will probably stay whenever he gets back, for Jane more than anything. Steve, um…Captain America, well him and Tony didn't always see eye to eye.

"And as for Nat, she's a bit of a loner. It will most likely take some time before she is comfortable living with other people, if she ever is." Darcy nodded, acting like she knew who all those people were. She was actually still trying to believe that Thor existed, she didn't want to contemplate a man frozen in ice for seventy years.

"I know why Jane, Erik and myself accepted the invitation, but why did you? Surely you have a home of your own." Clint looked far away for a moment before shaking his head slightly and looking back at Darcy.

"Sometimes it is better not to be alone." He left it at that, and Darcy figured it had something to do with what happened with Loki and the mind control, so she didn't say anymore. Though it could have been more, she had noticed how both Tony and Bruce would hunt out the others in the tower. Since she had been there, neither of them had spent more time than necessary alone.

"So, where've you been all this time? I know this place is big and all, but I've seen just about every place. Well, every place that Tony allows me to see." Not that she hadn't tried to enter the rooms he hadn't, only Darcy realized that JARVIS was a little tattle-tale.

"I've had a few things for S.H.I.E.L.D. that had to be done, and after that, just helping with the rebuild where I could. I've also been at the hospital when I have the time, visiting the children that had been hurt." He gave a sideways smile and acted like what he said wasn't the most wonderful thing she had ever heard. Darcy smiled wide at him and actually managed to surprise him by throwing her arms around his shoulders and pressing her face into his chest.

"Do you realize just how sweet that is?!" Clint froze for a moment before laughing lowly and shaking his head. He had known the woman could be random, he had watched her in New Mexico when Thor had stayed with them, so it shouldn't have shocked him when she hugged him. Nor should it have when Tony came into the kitchen, a mischievous smile on his lips.

"Hey, whatever floats your boats, but would you at least wash off the counter when you're done? Oh, and Robin Hood, don't forget to wrap it, yeah?" Clint glared at Tony, one day he was going to shoot an arrow straight through his reactor.

Darcy jumped at Tony's voice, realizing what the two of them must have looked like. When Tony gave her the same once over Clint had, she remembered she was still in her night clothes, and ran from the room. She ignored the older man's chuckling, slamming her door and quickly throwing on something that covered a bit more. From now on she was going to have to remember to actually put clothes on before leaving her room.

When she returned to the kitchen, Clint was just washing out his bowl. He turned and flashed Darcy a smile.

"What are you doing today?" His tone was light, his smile actually reaching his eyes.

"Most likely what I've been doing since I arrived two weeks ago. Wandering around Stark Tower hoping to find something interesting to do. I would stay in the lab, but I get a headache just listening to those three talk science." He looked at her funny, drying his hands on a towel.

"Don't you have a job?" She sighed and leaned against the counter, wishing she had finished her breakfast. The bowl sat on the counter, the Life swollen beyond recognition. The thing looked like a bowl of brown-white slime. It made her stomach turn.

"Well, I used too. I was a secretary at a small law firm. Well, more of the coffee maker, and pencil finder. Anyway, I lost the job a few days after I got here, because Tony is an ass." Clint laughed at that, his eyes lighting up even more. Right then and there she vowed that she would do whatever she could to get those blue eyes to light up more often.

"I agree with you on that point. I think it is an attention thing, like a kid breaking things just to be noticed. So, what did he do that could get you fired?" Darcy tried to keep from blushing, but that time she was unsuccessful.

"My boss called after I was gone a few days. I was trying to explain about a family emergency, but Tony thought it would be funny to take my phone. He then convinced my boss that I was playing hookey and spending my days in a teddy with my sugar daddy. Curtis Sr. fired me the moment I got my phone back." Darcy shrugged, not looking Clint in the eyes. The funny thing was, she actually wasn't all that mad at Tony. It was hard to be actually, when he was letting her stay in his tower and bought expensive take out every night. Among other costly things.

"Sounds like Tony. Well, since your days seems to be free, wanna help me today? I've gathered a bunch of stuffed bears and was planning on handing them out at the hospital again." Darcy beamed at him, and Clint thought for a moment she would jump on him again. Not that he would have minded much. Darcy was beautiful, if not young.

"Oh! I would love to!" Clint gave her a small smile. Yes, she was very beautiful.

* * *

Darcy hadn't really known what to expect, but whatever it was, it wasn't what she found once her and Clint arrived at the hospital. The place was still filled to the ceiling with injured people. All of them hurt in some way from the attack. But it was the children's wing that broke her heart.

There were children in full bodied casts, children with burns, lost limbs, and even a small girl that had been tossed into a wall and was now in a coma. Darcy had to control herself, because with each new room she wanted to break down and cry. Clint kept her close to him, one arm around her waist as they handed over bear after bear, talking and comforting the children.

When they had left the room of a boy that had lost his mother in the attack, Darcy leaned back against the wall and cried.

"I had seen the footage on tv, but nothing, _nothing,_ prepared me for this. You never…" Clint maneuvered around her so he was blocking her from view of others. He wrapped an arm around her and used the other to wipe away her tears.

"Calm down Darcy, these kids have been through a lot, they need smiles right now. When we get back to the tower I'll hold you if you need to cry." She nodded her head, knowing he wasn't trying to be mean. Those children needed smiles and laughter right now, not her breaking down. She took a deep breath and forced herself to stop the tears. When she was finally alright Clint wiped the remaining tears from her face and stepped back so she could breathe.

"Thank you. I'm fine now, it was just all a bit much, but I'm alright." He grabbed a hold of both sides of her face, taking a moment to look her in the eyes. When he was certain she wouldn't break down again he let her go and stood back.

"I understand, believe me. When it comes to war they never talk about the children, it's hard to see the reality of it. Come on now, we only have one more bear to give out. Once we're finished I'll take you out somewhere to eat." She nodded, unable to voice anything else. She followed him as they headed towards the last room in the hall.

Inside was a little girl with dark blonde hair and moss colored eyes. She couldn't have been more than five, if she was that. She beamed when she saw Clint, her smile so wide Darcy thought it might have hurt. She wondered just how many times he had been in that particular room, as the table beside the bed was completely filled with stuffed dolls.

Clint sat down beside the girl on the bed, handing her the last bear. She cuddled it to her chest tightly, and leaned in to Clint's side. Darcy watched on as he spoke to her, so quietly she couldn't make out a word of it.

The girl hadn't spoke once, and Darcy wondered if she was deaf, even though Clint was speaking to her. They remained in the room much longer than any of the others, Clint sitting on the bed and holding the girl like she was the most precious thing in the world.

After awhile Clint leaned over and gave a small kiss on the child's head, quietly saying goodbye. For the first time the girl looked up at Darcy, giving her a wide smile and waved to her as Clint led her from the room.

"Who is she? You didn't act that way with the other kids. She didn't even speak the entire time, was she traumatized?" She knew it was rude, she was prying where she shouldn't, but he must have known she would ask questions with the way he had acted.

"She's mute, was born that way. Anyway, I used to know her mother." There was something in the way he said that, that Darcy wondered just who the woman was to him, but she knew better than to open her mouth that time. She liked Clint, and she didn't want to destroy her friendship with him before there actually was a friendship.

They were walking back down the hall when she felt Clint stiffen beside her. It was strange, one minute he was walking beside her with his hand on the small of her back, and the next he was poised and ready to strike. She had almost forgotten the man was a soldier until that moment. She looked over to where he was focused, her brow furrowing.

Standing just outside of the doorway to the room of a child that had burns over half his body, was a tall man. He as much taller than Clint, lanky, though not in the chicken legs kind of way, more svelte and flowing. His skin was so pale he could have almost blended in with the white walls. Though his hair, long and flipping out at the ends, was like black ink.

He stood there in an open backed hospital gown and bare feet. Darcy snapped her eyes up to his face from where they had been resting on his naked ass. She cursed herself, the man was obviously a patient, and she shouldn't be staring at his ass. No matter how perfect, how tight it was. Like a fucking peach. She shook her head, spending her days doing nothing was doing weird things to her head.

Still, there was something about that man, but not something that she could see that would make Clint act the way he was. He looked lost more than anything.

"Loki!" Her eyes opened wide at Clint's snarl, and she looked back and forth between Clint and the man in the hospital gown. Surely Clint had to be wrong, had to be mistaking this man for Loki, because according to Jane, Thor had taken his brother home.

Before Darcy could do anything, Clint had marched forward and grabbed a hold of the man, ramming him up against the wall, his arm pressed into his throat.

"Clint! What the hell are you doing?!" She ran over to the two, trying to pry Clint off of the defenseless man.

"Fucking hell! Clint you're going to kill him, what're you doing? Let him go!" Clint wouldn't budge no matter what Darcy said. She ran a hand through her hair trying to figure out what to do. She looked at the man that Clint was currently threatening and paled. The man looked frightened, nothing like an evil alien hell bent on world domination. He was also quickly turning blue from lack of air. Not knowing what else to do, Darcy grabbed an empty tray off of a table that had been left in the hall and slammed it against Clint's back. When he turned around he was glaring at Darcy, but at least he had let the man go.

"What the fuck did you do that for? Do you have any idea…." Darcy didn't let him finish, poking a finger into his chest.

"Wait a God damned moment, will you? Think Clint, how could that man be Loki when Thor had taken him back home?" Clint stopped a moment and looked back at the man who had slumped to the floor panting. While he just stood there Darcy sprung forward and kneeled down next to the man stroking his hair away from his face.

"The fucking hell he isn't Loki, I would know that freak anywhere." Clint muttered behind her, pulling out his phone. She ignored him, her focus on making sure the man was alright.

The man, eyes now bloodshot and watering, looked up at Darcy with a strange look on his face.

"Do you know who I am?" His voice was rough from just having an arm shoved against his throat. Darcy's stomach clenched, he sounded as lost as he looked. Behind her Clint dropped his phone to his side, ignoring the yelling voice on the other end in favor of snapping at the man.

"Come again?"


	4. Chapter Three: Faith In Madness

The chair in which Darcy sat creaked ominously, the uncomfortable metal digging into the backs of her thighs. She shifted, trying to make as little sound as she could so as not to draw attention to herself. Not that anyone would have noticed had she stripped nude and did the Macarena.

The chair in which she sat was located in an unused office in the upper floors of the hospital. Her and Clint had been led to the room shortly after he had gotten off the phone, and a pair of male nurses had come to take the tall man back to his room. One by one the rest of the Avengers filtered in, various expressions on their faces. Fury, who was currently leaning against the wall with his arms crossed, had been the last to enter. And Darcy wouldn't hesitate to admit the man freaked her out just a little.

Darcy watched on as the Avengers argued back and forth. No one seemed to be able to come to an agreement on what to do about the situation they were suddenly faced with. It appeared that Loki was back on Earth, but no one was sure how that happened, and the fact that Thor hadn't contacted any of them wasn't helping matters any.

Darcy still wasn't fully convinced that the man she had to pry from Clint's arms was Loki, but everyone else did. Of course what did she know, out of those in the room only her and Pepper; who Tony had dragged along; hadn't come face to face with the man.

With the consensus on who the man was, the group had began discussing the _hows_ , _whys_ , and _what nows_. The only thing everyone could agree upon was the _how_ , that Loki must have overpowered his brother and returned to Earth. Darcy thought they all were overlooking a few too many things. Like the fact that the man they all claimed was a murdering alien god didn't even know who he was.

She had grown tired of them all fighting over what they would do with him, which ranged from locking him up to driving arrows through his eyes and balls. The last of course from Clint who was actually seething, clenched jaw and all. She leaned her chair back on two legs, ignoring how loudly it creaked.

"Hey!" One by one everyone stopped talking, their eyes turning to look at her as though they had forgotten she was even there. Which Darcy pretty much figured was the truth.

"Has anyone actually taken a moment to think about this past how to castrate and otherwise mutilate that man?" No one spoke, though Darcy noticed how Clint shrugged his shoulders, totally unashamed about his behavior. She sighed and ran a hand through her hair. That was the problem with superheroes, pretty much ninety-eight percent of the time they acted before thinking. It was all get the bad guy, save the damsel, ride off into the sunset. They rarely ever stopped to think that maybe there were reasons behind the evil, and that the damsel might be able to save herself.

"Alright, let's think then. If that man is Loki, maybe he's already being punished? Do we have the right to interfere in the laws of another planet?" She expected a few cries of outrage, mostly from Clint. He had made it perfectly clear he thought she was crazy when it came to the situation. What she hadn't expected was silence, or for Steve to be the one to speak first.

"What do you mean? Loki is running free on Earth, how can that be a punishment?" Darcy shook her head, she knew that everyone in that room equated punishment with some kind of physical harm or incarceration. No one seemed able to contemplate the more subtle and intimate punishments.

"He is in the mental ward at the hospital, doesn't know who or what he is. This doesn't look like some evil plan to take over the world to me. It doesn't seem his M.O. anyway, mental patient just doesn't seem in line with metal robots of death and techno-alien armies." Steve shook his head, standing straight as he looked down at Darcy.

"It still doesn't make sense." Darcy couldn't help but roll her eyes. No subtly at all.

"Think about it. Loki is a man that craves attention, who is so full of himself that he thought he had the right to rule over our planet. What better way to punish him than make him nothing, a nobody?" No one spoke for awhile, though Clint had moved across the room, not looking at Darcy. She watched as Tony opened his mouth to speak after a couple of minutes. Before he could say anything Pepper hit him across the shoulder.

" It does make sense actually. Now he is no more important than the humans he tried to take over. Even less since he has no identity, just a nameless man in a world of nameless men." Tony rubbed his shoulder and gave Pepper a little glare.

"Oh, so we're just suppose to forget what he did, just because what, his Daddy thought a few days without his memories was punishment enough for the deaths of all those people? How do we even know that he isn't acting?" Pepper responded before Darcy could, her voice much more calm than Darcy's ever would have been by then.

"From what I've been able to gather, Loki was found a few days after the battle in the middle of the rubble of a building. His clothes had been torn and covered in blood.

"After they brought him to the hospital and he woke, he had seemed to have no memory of who he was, where he was at, or why he was there. Even though he had been bloody, he hadn't seemed too injured. They placed him in the mental health wing for his own protection. According to the nurses, they haven't noticed anything strange. Nothing that I can see that could prove that he's only acting. They said the only thing he does all day is look out the window or try to escape. Whenever they catch him he always says that he had to leave, but he is never able to answer the question to where." Darcy listened, not having heard any of that before then.

"Bullshit!" Darcy and Pepper's eyes went wide as Tony and Clint both shouted at the same time.

"That is bullshit, and you know it!" Darcy sighed and shook her head at Clint.

"And surely you know it would be wrong to punish him like he is now?" Bruce, who had been quiet up until then, stood from his spot across the room.

"Just what are you thinking then Darcy?" His voice was quiet, and though he spoke softly she could hear the contained rage.

"It won't do any good to punish him when he doesn't even know what he is being punished for. If we did punish him, we would be the monsters. Imagine you couldn't remember who you were and instead of finding help, someone took you away and hurt you. Punished you for something you can't even remember. You can't tell me that any of you would be comfortable doing that." Several pairs of eyes blinked at her, probably not one of them having thought of that before. Only Clint still looked pissed beyond reason. During the silence Fury pushed himself from off the wall and came to stand in the middle of the room.

"I can't make the mistake that Loki is playing possum, but Ms. Lewis has a point. I can't, in good conscience take action against a man that can't even remember his own name." Darcy was surprised, she had been sure Fury would have agreed with Clint and Tony.

"What do you have in mind then, Director?" Nat who had actually been pretty quiet on the subject so far, spoke up from her spot by Clint.

"We will await Thor's return to determine what the situation calls for. Meanwhile we will detain Loki, observing him constantly to make sure he isn't acting." Fury looked calmly at everyone in the room, his one eye daring someone to disagree with him.

"And while he is being detained someone will have to be on duty to watch over him. And I have the perfect candidate." His eye locked on Darcy, causing her heart to momentarily stop.

"Me?" Fury nodded, ignoring the squeaking in her voice.

"Yes, you, Ms. Lewis. You are the only one that seems to be acting objectively in this manner. Not to mention you were the one that opened your mouth, and now you will take on the responsibility." Fury turned from her, seemingly ignoring the fact that she didn't even work for him.

"Agent Romanoff, I want you to get to work on creating an identity for Loki, and getting him released to the custody of one of the Avengers.

"Stark, because of the state of things, we will need you to ready rooms at the tower for Ms. Lewis and Loki. I want cameras, mics, and a twenty-four-seven watch by JARVIS on the rooms." Nat nodded and pulled a phone from her pocket, already dialing before Fury finished. Tony merely shrugged, but Darcy could see the anger behind his eyes.

Darcy figured that was the end of things, but as Fury was leaving he turned to level her with a heavy stare.

"It's now your job to watch Loki, Ms. Lewis. I'm putting my faith in you, so you better hope you're were right, because you won't like what will happen if you're wrong." Darcy gulped as Fury left. What the hell had she gotten herself into?

* * *

Frigga sat in the palace gardens, weaving a crown of flowers as she had many times in her youth. She did not smile when she heard Thor walk up beside her and take a seat on the bench where she sat. She knew that he would eventually find her, not that she really wanted to have this talk, though she knew it was needed.

"Mother, what happened to Loki? I know you did something." Frigga set the crown of flowers down on her lap and turned to look at her oldest son. She saw no condemnation in his eyes, as she had feared. Only curiosity and concern.

"I have sent him where he may learn his lesson the best. Do not worry my Son, I have kept watch of him from the moment I sent him away. I will not allow any harm to come to Loki. No matter what he has done, he is still my son, as he is still your brother." Thor looked at his mother in silence for a moment, but it didn't take long for his eyes to shine with realization.

People might have thought him to be ignorant, but oftentimes it was just a show he put on. He had seen how others treated his brother. Loki was more of a scholar than he was, and while he hid a great many things, that was one aspect of himself that he proudly displayed. And Thor had seen how others had teased him for it, even he himself had made fun of his brother's talents.

"Why, Mother? Why there, why send him at all? Do not mistake me, I love my brother. But I do not understand." Frigga gave him a soft, but sad smile. Thor was a strong warrior, and though he had heart he lacked the ability to see such subtle actions. She knew if it hadn't been for Loki's deception and his sending of the Destroyer, Thor would have taken much longer on Midgard.

"Because, Thor, he needs to see what his actions have caused. To learn that he must think about the consequences before he acts. He must learn that things are not just about him. It will be hard, and he will most likely be there for some time. But I am absolutely sure that he will be able to do what is needed where I have sent him." Frigga mentally shook her head. Those lessons should have been taught long ago, to both Loki and Thor. Neither of them should have had to be punished in such a way at their age. Both her and Odin had failed on so many levels.

"Do you really have that much faith in Loki? To be sure that he will learn and be allowed to return home?" Thor had seen his brother on Earth, seen the insanity in his eyes. It wasn't that he had lost faith in his brother, just that he wasn't sure if that faith was misplaced.

"Of course! Loki isn't as evil as everyone wants to make him out to be. He is hurt and we have all failed him over the years. Your father for obviously favoring you and holding to a double standard when it came to punishing the both of you. Myself for not standing up to your father, allowing him to treat him as such. And even you, Thor, for the way you have treated Loki all these years." Thor looked over at his mother with furrowed brows, a bit of hurt and confusion on his face. Frigga shook her head.

"Can you not see the way you have teased Loki, lessened the importance of his gifts in battle and everyday life, the way you have at times treated Loki more like a subject than a brother? Can you not see what that has done to him?

"He has been made to feel less than he is, second always to you, second in the eyes of his father. And then to find out he is a frost Giant, a race our people have always made out to be monsters.

"Loki has lived on the edge of madness his whole life, and that one revelation was what pushed him over the edge. And we all just allowed it to happen, even helped to push him." Frigga looked away from her son, staring off across the gardens.

"Now, I am doing what I can in order to undo the damage that has been done. And if your father knows what is good for him, he won't interfere."

Remembering the look on his father's face when his mother had told him she would always choose her sons, Thor had no doubt his father knew his mother was not making idle threats.

"What is there that I may do to help?" Frigga looked back and smiled at her son. She had always known in her heart that both her sons were good.

"For now all I ask is for you to allow me to handle the situation on my own. I will let you know when your help is needed." He nodded and stood, looking down at his mother he gave her a distracted smile, bid her farewell and left her to her thoughts.

Frigga just continued to weave her crown of flowers. It was all just a waiting game now.


	5. Moving In

Natasha was fast, Darcy would give her that. It had only taken her twenty-four hours to whip up a false identity and have Loki released. Papers were signed, handed over, and now, Darcy was waiting somewhat patiently at Stark Tower for Luke Banner, Bruce's new  _brother_.

Darcy rolled her eyes, Bruce was the only one that hadn't thrown a fit when asked to play the role of family member, and thus Luke was born.

Darcy turned towards the entryway at the sound of the door opening. Expecting it to be Nat and Bruce with Loki, she was surprised to see Clint marching into the room. Mostly since Clint hadn't talked to her since she spoke up on Loki's behalf.

Ok, so she got why he was angry, Loki had taken over his mind and made him kill a bunch of people. She knew had it been her in that situation, she would have been right there with him wanting the guy's head on a platter. But Darcy lived by a certain set of rules and codes. One of those was that she refused to stand by and allow others to abuse someone when she could stop it. And in her opinion, sentencing a man that couldn't even recall what he did, let alone his own name was abuse. She also believed in redemption, and allowing others the chance of it.

Clint walked over, towering over her in a way that just screamed "assassin." Darcy cringed inwardly at the glare he gave her, it looked like he would much rather spit on her than anything else.

"What the fuck were you thinking? Campaigning for a murderer? Damnit! Darcy, you just don't seem like you would be that stupid." Darcy had to take a couple of deep breaths to keep from snapping at the man. She knew he was upset, shit, he had a right to be. Still, he needn't call her stupid. She wasn't the air-headed little girl that everyone wanted to believe of her.

"I'm not stupid. And I would thank you to never call me that again. I understand you are angry, believe me, I'm not ignorant to your reasons. But I couldn't just stand by and do nothing. I know that Loki needs to be punished for what he has done, but it can wait until he remembers who he is first."

Clint ran a hand through his hair, his face pulled tightly in annoyance. He huffed once and promptly flopped down in a chair. Hoping for a calmer Clint, Darcy took the few steps to the chair beside his and sat down.

"I'm sorry for…well I guess maybe the stupid comment was uncalled for…maybe. Still I don't understand how you could have done such a thing knowing what he has done." He was silent for a moment, his eyes closed as he seemed to compose his thoughts. It wasn't very long before he opened them again and he pinned her to her chair with a simple look.

"Yesterday you said something, about Loki already being punished. Why would you think that?" He looked so confused that Darcy almost wanted to hug him.

"It's just, this doesn't seem to be his M.O. when it comes to dealing with Earth, not to mention of course, that Thor took him back to Asgard." So maybe that wasn't the best excuse or reason for doing what she had, but something told her she was right.

"So, what? This is his people's punishment for what he did? Seems like a fucking slap on the wrist to me." Darcy just shrugged, she knew that whatever she said he wouldn't agree with. Clint had already made up his mind.

"Who knows. We're talking about an alien planet here, we can't think in terms of human laws and expectations. For instance, I've read about a punishment that Loki had gone through where he had his mouth sewn shut. That is not something we would do on Earth, but it seems perfectly fine for those on Asgard.

"I look at it this way, Loki is back on Earth, but instead of the big powerful alien with the magic cube of power, he is nothing more than some nameless human that people kind of think is crazy. He doesn't know who he is, where he comes from, and now he won't know why everyone seems to hate him so much.

"Seems a pretty fitting punishment for a man that wanted power to be left completely powerless." Maybe it wasn't what she, or anyone on Earth would call a proper punishment for his crimes, but he wasn't of Earth.

"Don't you hate him for what happened in New Mexico? I mean, fuck Darcy, he tried to kill you and everyone." She laughed a little at that, cause when he put it that way she did seem to be out of her mind.

"Yeah, I mean it bothers me of course. I would  _have_  to be stupid for it not to. Believe me if he knew who he was I would have tasered his ass for scaring the ever living shit out of me that day." Clint shook his head, laughing a bit along with her.

"You're probably the strangest girl I had ever known. That you could even think about being around that man after seeing what you did in the hospital." His laughter quickly died on his lips, his face drawing into a frown. She stood up, crossed over to stand beside him, and laid a hand on his shoulder. Her fingers curving around him and squeezing gently.

"I believe in second chances, Clint." With that she left to wait for Loki in the rooms she would be sharing with him.

* * *

 

When Nat and Bruce finally arrived, Loki had actually been bound in chains. Darcy understood their caution, but seriously?! He was wearing a sweat set, all grey, and he looked more like they should be leading him into a detention cell than a fully furnished apartment in Stark Tower.

Darcy glared at the two S.H.I.E.L.D. agents that had escorted Loki into the room ahead of Nat and Bruce. They were standing on either side of Loki, arms crossed over their chests and looking like they wanted nothing more than to shoot him. Her glare of course did nothing, not even a blink.

Loki stood there, looking just as frightened as when Clint had almost killed him, and just as confused.

"Unchain him for fuck's sake!" Still not even a wince. Darcy would have felt insulted if she hadn't already been pissed about what they had done. They were suppose to be treating him normally until he regained his memory. That was certainly not normal.

Nat gave an almost imperceptible nod to the two men, and immediately they began taking the chains and cuffs off. Within minutes the men and chains had left. Nat looked at Loki and then Darcy, her face remaining impassive.

"Remember who you work for now." She said nothing more, just turned, gave Loki a glare, and left.

Bruce looked a bit uncomfortable, his hands stuffed in his front pockets. He flashed her an uneasy smile. 'Be careful' was all he said before turning and following Nat, leaving Darcy and Loki alone.

Not knowing what else to do, she walked over to Loki, who was rubbing his wrist as he just stood where he'd been left. She looked to his wrists and cursed under her breath. The cuffs must have been pretty tight as light red bands circled his wrists.

"Are you alright?" It was a moment before he finally looked at her and nodded.

"You are the girl that helped me, in the hospital." She gave him a little smile, for some reason happy that he remembered her.

"Yep, that would be me. I'm Darcy Lewis by the way." She held her hand out for him to shake, but when he didn't take it she let it fall back to her side. He was silent for a moment, just looking at her with an expression that Darcy couldn't place.

"It is nice to meet you, Darcy Lewis." And once again he was silent. Darcy remained standing in front of him for awhile, hoping for what, she didn't know. It was getting to the point of awkwardness when he finally spoke.

"I would tell you my name, but I don't seem to know what it is." She gave him a small smile and shrugged her shoulders.

"That's alright" He drew a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

"No, it isn't. A person should know their own name, right? If a man is to know anything in the world, it should be his name and where he comes from, but I don't know either.

"The ones who came for me at the hospital called me Luke, but somehow that doesn't feel right."

"You're right, it isn't Luke. I know your name already anyway." When she didn't say anything more, Loki cocked his head to the side, his eyebrows darting upwards. She had to hold back a groan when she realized that she had left him hanging.

"It's Loki…..Loki…Odinson." She hesitated at the last name, but in the end added it. He was quiet, nodding his head slowly after a moment.

"I like that. It is…different." Maybe different was an understatement, but she knew what he meant. All her life she had been teased about her name, but she had always ignored them. Darcy was a good name, she knew she wouldn't come across very many other Darcys in her life. It was one of the things that made her unique, made her…her.

Realizing that they were still standing in the middle of the room, Darcy directed him over to sit on a couch.

"Um, why don't you sit down while I go and get you some water. That alright?" He nodded and sat where she had indicated. Once she brought him a glass, she ended up just watching him as he drank. She was surprised by what she saw. He looked so young, and in his face she saw a child, confused and afraid. His eyes were the most worrying. They were sunken and ringed in a deep purple, as though he hadn't slept or ate properly in a very long time.

"Where am I?" Loki handed her back the glass, his fingers brushing hers momentarily.

"Home." He shook his head, his brows furrowing.

"No, this isn't home." Darcy's heart skipped a beat, wondering if he had remembered.

"Where is home?" His eyes darted up to look at her straight on, and Darcy had to stifle a gasp. There was something very sad in those eyes.

"I don't know, but this isn't home." He looked away, removing those sad eyes from her.

"Why did they put me in chains?" Darcy wasn't sure how to answer that. She really didn't want to say it was because he had tried to take over the planet, killed a bunch of people, and they were scared that he would do it again. Instead she gave him a placating smile.

"They're meanies, don't worry about it." He looked like he was about to say something when he yawned instead. Darcy stifled a giggle at that. He looked like a sleepy child.

"Come on, let me show you to your room. You look like you need some rest." He didn't say anything, just nodded and followed her to his bedroom.

Once she had him settled in his room, she stood at the door watching as he sat on the end of the bed.

"You don't have to worry, where we are is safe. No one will bother you here. You just get some sleep now. I'll be in the other room if you need me." He gave her a smile of his own, stood and set about pulling down the covers.

She left and headed for the living room, intent on relaxing for awhile. Who knew answering a few questions for an alien god with memory loss would be so tiring.

"JARVIS, I would like it if you locked the doors to the apartment until I ask for them to be unlocked." Darcy felt a bit of the idiot talking to thin air, but she didn't feel as silly as she had when she had first arrived.

"Of course Ms. Lewis. What would you like me to do if someone were to request entry?" Darcy sighed. She had tried on several occasions to get the AI to call her by her first name, but once Tony realized that she was annoyed by the AI's formality, he refused to allow him to call her that.

"Tell them I'm unavailable. I don't want anyone coming in uninvited. Even Tony, if you can do that." She wasn't sure if she could do that, the tower and JARVIS belonging to Tony.

"Mr. Stark has informed me that this apartment now belongs to you, you are to have the same control as you would have in a residence outside of the Tower.

"The doors have all been locked, Ms. Lewis. They shall not open to anyone until you inform me otherwise. If there is anything else, be sure to tell me." Darcy smiled, Tony may have just screwed himself with that one.

"Thank you JARVIS, that will be all." Darcy went to sit back down, her body flopping on the couch with no care to breaking the thing. She knew there was as chance Loki was acting, but fucking hell if he was he was one hell of an actor. Oscar worthy, because she couldn't see any of the monster that he was suppose to be. Only a lost little boy.


	6. Safer Than The Truth

Darcy knew she wouldn't be able to keep the door to the apartment locked forever, still it was several days before she ordered JARVIS to unlock the doors. JARVIS had been true to his word, and had denied Tony access. The video that the AI had showed Darcy of Tony's reaction had made her laugh. Tony really was nothing more than a big kid.

During their internment, Darcy and Loki had gotten along for the most part. It wasn't as though they disliked each other or anything, it was more that Loki was so quiet. He spent his days moping around the apartment reading. Darcy barely had been able to get a word out of him since that first day.

She was even more convinced, after those few days, that she was right about Loki. That he wasn't playing a part. At night she could hear him crying out, quiet mutterings and muffled screams. She figured nightmares plagued his dreams, but she didn't dare enter his room uninvited. He never acted as though he remembered the nightmares during the day, and Darcy wasn't sure whether she should bring them up or not. She knew mentioning them could bring a slew of unwanted questions.

It came as no surprise when, just an hour after she unlocked the doors, Jane had shown up. Darcy had been prepared actually, two cups of coffee ready and steaming and a box of pop-tarts on the table. A table at which she was currently sitting, being berated by Jane.

"Do you seriously not think about others Darcy? When no one could open your door, not even Tony, do you know what kind of panic that created? Seriously, Clint wanted to knock down the door, he was so convinced that Loki had somehow tampered with JARVIS. Dang it, Darcy, how could have been so….." On and on she went, until Darcy finally got tired of being unable to defend herself. Not listening to Jane, she stood from the table, walked around and stood in front of the older woman. Not even thinking about what she was doing, she grabbed a pop-tart from the plate and actually stuffed the thing in Jane's mouth when she was mid-sentence. This was something she had wanted to do since New Mexico. She loved the woman like a sister, but she could really be annoying.

"Alright, now are you going to let me talk, or do I need to open another package of pop-tarts?" Jane just glowered at her before spitting out the offending pastry and taking a drink of her coffee. Darcy took her silence on the matter as acquiescence.

"Good, now let me see if I can cover everything. Of course I think of others, I'm not some self-obsessed teenager. Something that everyone around here seems to forget since I'm the youngest. I knew what I was doing.

"And, yes, I had some idea of the panic locking the doors would create. But I had hoped all of you would have the sense to check the video feed. I mean, scientists and superheroes for goodness sake. I really didn't think everyone would be running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

"And Tony would have never let Clint do any damage to his Tower." Darcy took a deep breath, having rushed to get all that out before Jane spoke again. Somehow, she didn't think her little speech had done much by the way of convincing the woman.

"I know that you believe Loki isn't acting, Bruce told me what you said at the hospital. But Darcy, he isn't called the god of mischief and lies for nothing." Holding up a hand with another pop-tart, Darcy was ready to stuff it in Jane's mouth if the woman went off on her again. Instead the woman snapped her jaw shut, eyeing the pastry.

"Everyone wants to bring that up, and I get it, but did it not occur to anyone that this time he might not be acting? I know there is a chance, but there is also a chance that I'm right. And I really do think I am.

"While the rest of you were upstairs acting like a bunch of idiots, I've been watching Loki. I'm really not sure he is acting. He seems so much like a little child, the way he holds himself, the look in his eyes. He's lost and doesn't seem to know how to find his way home. It's actually hard to watch." And it was. From the little she knew of him from what Thor and the others had told her, the man-child in the other room didn't resemble the villain they all spoke of.

"You're crazy for taking the job, I hope you know that. Knowing what I do of him, I don't think I could be five minutes in a room with him, let alone days. Just…Darcy, be careful. Please." Feeling bad about the pop-tart, Darcy leaned down and gave Jane a hug. She knew the woman was just worried for her, even if Darcy didn't think there was a reason to be.

She had just stood up straight when Loki came into the kitchen, his hair a little rumpled from sleep. Darcy couldn't help the urge that rose up inside of her to run her fingers through his hair and smooth it out like one would a small child. Though she did smother it immediately. Who knew how he would take it, and Darcy already knew how Jane would. And that was something she wanted to avoid.

"Um, thanks for the coffee. I'll talk to you later, I promised Tony that I would help him out on a project of his." As though the hounds of hell were chasing her, the woman rushed from the kitchen and out of the apartment. Darcy rolled her eyes, but any humor she found at Jane's actions was lost when she looked at Loki.

He looked hurt at Jane's hasty retreat, hurt and confused, and it annoyed Darcy that Jane had made him feel that way. She flashed him an over large smile, walking over to the counter and pulling out a couple of plates.

"Hey, you slept in late today. It's just about noon, wanna help me make lunch?" Just as he had the past few days, he said nothing, just nodded his head. For awhile the two stood side by side, putting together sandwiches. Eventually Loki put down the slice cheese he had been getting ready to put on the bead and turned to Darcy.

"Could I ask you a question?" Continuing to assemble the monster sandwich she was making, she gave an absentminded 'sure.'

"What happened out there?" She furrowed her brows, placing the top slice of bread on her lunch before looking at him.

"What do you mean?" His face was drawn, a small frown curving his lips.

"The hospital where we met, it was filled with injured people. More, I'm thinking than there should have been, and the children….there were so many children hurt. What happened?" Darcy put down her sandwich and took a step back from the counter. She wasn't sure how to handle that question. She couldn't tell him the truth, not yet. He looked so sad, she couldn't tell him that he was the cause of so many hurt children.

"There was a battle, someone had wanted power and he had gone about it in the wrong way. He sent an army to subjugate the people, to try and gain control of the planet, and the army tore through the city destroying anything they could." She hadn't lied, but there was no way she would tell him he was the man.

"Did the man win?" Darcy shook her head.

"No, the people we're staying with are soldiers. They fought the man and his army and won."

"Did the man pay for his crimes?" Darcy took a moment, a small frown on her face. She contemplated the man before her, what she had seen of him and what she had said before.

"Yes, I think he is actually." Loki nodded, thankfully then dropping the subject, and continued with his lunch. Darcy just stood there, watching as he took a bite of his sandwich. Yes, maybe it wasn't the punishment that her world would have doled out, but she was sure more than ever that Loki was being punished.

* * *

 

The rest of the day was pretty uneventful, Loki hadn't asked anymore questions. They simply spent the afternoon and after dinner watching movies. Every time she looked over at him he looked as though he was deep in thought, so she hadn't bothered him.

After Loki had gone to bed, Darcy remained sitting in the living room. Long nights due to working with Jane and cramming in college, meant she had adapted a more night owl life style.

She had just started a movie when Clint walked into the room and threw himself down on the couch beside her.

"Do you believe that Loki is acting yet, or are you still insistent that this is his slap on the wrist?" She sighed, she had hoped he wouldn't try to rehash that.

"From what I can see he isn't. He might be a good actor, but I'm not sure even to deceive us he would allow anyone to see him as vulnerable as he is now." Clint huffed, somehow saying everything Jane had said in one wordless sound.

"Fury is starting to believe that himself. We've been going over the video feed from the apartment, and I'll tell you, seeing Loki this way is very surreal."

"If you've seen that, then why can't you see what I see?" He ran a hand over his face, pulling at the skin with the harsh pass.

"I know Loki better than you, the man was inside my head. I can't believe that he's actually lost his memory because I've seen Loki in action before, and I know just what he can do." Clint sighed, sitting up straight. He reached over, grabbing a lock of her hair and allow it to slip through his fingers. She just sat there while he watched that same lock of hair run through his fingers over and over. For what must have been two or three minutes, Darcy sat and watched as he played with her hair, a wistful look on his face. Finally he set his hand down on the couch between them and gave a short, almost deprecating laugh.

"You are very beautiful, Darcy, and maybe if things were different." His smile was sad, and Darcy didn't know what to say. To give herself some time, she cleared her throat and turned fully to look at him.

"What do you mean, if things were different?" Was it her age, the fact that she spoke up for Loki and he couldn't accept that, or some S.H.I.E.L.D. policy?

"In my line of work relationships are a very bad idea. Besides the fact that I could leave on a mission one day and just not return, my being who I am would put my family in harms way. They could become a target, used to get to me." He looked away from her, that same incomprehensible look on his face as he had had at the hospital, and something clicked in Darcy's head.

"The Child! At the hospital." He nodded and leaned over to rest his head in his hands.

"I've had relationships in the past, I was even married once, but that was some time ago. I was never married to the girl's mother, she was a cashier at this store I frequented.

"I would go in there everyday when I was in town, we would talk and we sort of just hit it off. One day I decided 'what the hell' and asked her out. We started dating regularly after that.

"She had never known what I did, but our relationship started getting really serious, so serious that it resulted in the little girl in that hospital room. Carla, or Carli. It was after she was born that things got bad, her mother didn't like it when I came home covered in cuts and bruises. I didn't blame her of course, she thought I worked in some office. She would accuse me of getting into fights, once even of having a torrid affair. I let her believe what she did, it was safer than the truth.

"It all finally came to a head when a man with a grudge against me had shown up at our house. I had heard a noise late one night, and when I went to check I found the guy lurking outside my daughter's window." Darcy sat there with eyes wide open, her chest hurting at the pain in his voice.

"I broke off the relationship just days later, even though I didn't want to. If there was a woman I would have wanted to try marriage again with, it was her, but I couldn't put her and our daughter in danger.

"I had tried to stay away from Carli, but it hurt too much to cut off all ties to my child. I had figured out ways to see her, to be in her life. Her mother had never known, or maybe she had, I don't know. I would show up at her school to watch her, send her unsigned birthday presents."

Darcy was quiet as she processed all of that. Clint was a father, and his daughter was in the hospital. She was about to ask him if she was in there because of the battle, but Clint cut her off.

"Carli and her mother had been there that day, during the battle. Shopping from what I've been able to find out. Her mother is dead, she was hit when she tried to protect Carli." He laughed hollowly, a bitter sound that made the hairs on Darcy's neck stand up.

"It's ironic, I gave them up so they would be safe, and in the end they were still hurt." Darcy wanted to ask him about the mother, but the bitterness in his voice and the pain on his face kept her from asking. He had already revealed a lot.

"What's going to happen to Carli?" All bitterness washed from his face, leaving only a great weariness.

"I don't know. She has grandparents on her mother's side, but I'm not sure where they are." Darcy sat closer to him, placed an arm around his shoulders and tucked him close to her side.

"You should bring her here, to the tower. I doubt that Tony would mind, and I know that Pepper and Jane will coo all over her." He started to shake his head, but Darcy shook him instead.

"She needs you now, more than anything. Life is dangerous, she could get hurt some other way without you there. It's apparent that there are villains out there, many I'm sure that we can't even begin to contemplate. Would not it be better to have her somewhere where she can be safe? And I'm thinking, living with a group of superheroes is pretty damn safe." Clint was quiet for a moment and then nodded, giving Darcy a small smile.

"Good, it will be nice having a small one around." Clint sat up straight then, turning completely to face Darcy.

"Do you understand now why I can never forgive Loki?" His voice was almost pleading, as though he was begging her to understand him.

"Yes, and I'm truly sorry. I….I'm sorry." He shook his head at her, and then, after a moment of contemplation leaned down and kissed her softly.

His lips were soft, warm. The kiss wasn't passionate, nothing elaborate, and almost chaste. Still, it was enough to send Darcy's heart racing about a hundred miles a minute.

He pulled back, gave her a sad smile and a peck on her forehead.

"If only things were different." With that he stood up and left, leaving Darcy sitting there wondering what the fuck had just happened.


	7. Lost And Found

Days soon turned into weeks. Things were still subdued between the two, but Loki had at least began to talk more during the days. Though at night Darcy could still hear him whimpering through his nightmares. She wanted to be able to talk to him about it, but she was afraid of what his reaction would be. Instead, she had started to sit in the doorway of his room at night whenever she heard him, he would calm a little when she was there, but never enough to stop the nightmare.

They were currently in the living room. Loki perched in what had become 'his' chair in such a way Darcy was reminded that the man she shared a living space with was, in fact, a prince. He was, as had become his habit, reading one of the various books that Tony had seen fit to stock the place with.

He flipped through the pages of a thick novel as Darcy played around on her laptop. Ok, so she was surfing celebrity gossip sites, but really the stuff they wrote about the Avengers on there was seriously funny.

So far in the last week, Tony and Steve had become lovers while a shunned Pepper was apparently bumping uglies with Bruce. Thor was sighted throughout each of the 50 states, and in one he had even been seen dressed in a bright green cocktail dress and fire engine red lipstick. Nat and Clint had been dubbed Mr. and Mrs. Smith, and every day it was a guess whether or not they would be seen doing it in public or trying to kill each other over coffee at the local Starbucks.

Today's gossip had the whole of the Avengers having some sort of torrid menage between them all. Apparently Stark Tower was hosting sweaty orgies every night. There were even several people who had claimed to have been invited and participated, one was even claiming to be carrying one of the heroes' baby.

Darcy laughed, the public would be bored to tears if they knew what actually went on in the tower. Most days were filled with science geekery, Stark tinkering with one of his suits or some new invention. Pepper on the phone, Nat confined to the room she reluctantly accepted two weeks ago, doing only God knew what, and Clint watching cartoons with his daughter. And Steve drew, when he was not working out that was. Thor was still nowhere to be found, and she pretty much stayed in her apartment with Loki, doing what they were doing at that very moment.

The most exciting things to happen in the past week were when Tony blew up one of his a test suits, and when Nat actually left her room to find Clint asleep on the couch. His face had been covered in makeup, one of Pepper's dresses draped over him like a blanket, and little Carli standing beside her father with Pepper's makeup bag in her hands.

Darcy thanked God that Nat was as quiet as she was, because she had been able to take a picture of Clint in all his pretty finery without the archer noticing. Tony had even had the picture blown up to poster size. It now was plastered on the wall of the common room with a protective glass cover locked and guarded by JARVIS, making it so Clint couldn't take it down. Though Clint balked about it, Darcy was pretty sure he was eating it all up, being able to just be a daddy. Darcy would have found it melting her heart if that stubborn and stupid thing in her chest hadn't already started to melt for someone else. Something she hadn't told anyone about, something she planned to take to her grave.

Darcy clicked off the site she was on after reading a post about how Tony filmed the orgies and had used them to seduce this one couple. It was really just getting stupid, the next thing she knew someone would claim that Tony brought dogs and horses to the parties. Tony was kinky, but not that kinky.

The soft metallic click of her closing the laptop caught Loki's attention. Slowly he closed the book in his hands, set it aside on the table, and bowed his head. Darcy watched, wondering what the man was thinking, he didn't speak for a long while, just continued to stare at his hands folded in his lap.

"I don't have a home." Shocked, Darcy sat there with wide eyes and a churning sickness in her stomach.

"W-what do you mean, you don't have a home?" Loki took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, his eyes still focused on his hands.

"I can't really remember things, about my past and myself, but I've been getting flashes. Only pieces of memories.

"It's like shards of glass, splintered and incomplete. I can't see the whole through all the dust, but I see faint images. Phantom impressions, they are like shadows lurking around my mind. Indistinct, but still real.

"I can't follow most of them, when I try to grasp a hold they slip through my fingers like so much smoke. All but one thing, a feeling of loneliness, of displacement. I may not be able to remember much, but I remember that feeling of not belonging, of having no home." There was a great despair in his voice and on his face. He sounded even more lost than the day they found him at the hospital. Unable to cope with it any longer, Darcy got off the couch and moved to kneel before Loki.

She lifted her hands up, reaching to him to grasp both sides of his face, forcing him to look straight at her. His eyes grew wide at her proximity, but he remained silent and still.

"Don't say things like that. I don't ever want to hear you say stuff like that again. You have a home." Her hands shook slightly as she spoke, as though she could force her words into his head.

"Where? Darcy, where is my home?" Darcy could feel a slight burning behind her eyes. He wasn't just asking, he was pleading.

"Right here….with me." She hoped to God in that moment that Loki wasn't acting, because she had just given him a weapon against her if he was.

He looked at her strange, and for a breathtaking moment she thought he might kiss her. Instead he leaned down and rested his forehead against her's, closing his eyes.

"Everyone else in this place seems to hate me. How can this be home?" Darcy allowed her fingers to tease the edges of his hair, her own eyes closing for a second.

"It doesn't matter, no one else matters. I don't hate you, isn't that enough?" Loki slowly pulled back, his eyes opening and locking with her's. Something passed beneath those wet emeralds, but Darcy couldn't catch it before it was gone again.

"Yes, it is enough. Thank you, Darcy Lewis." He said no more as he stood and moved around her. Darcy watched as he shut himself in his room, and for the umpteenth time since she arrived at Stark Tower, Darcy was confused about what exactly just happened.

* * *

 

It really shouldn't have surprised Darcy when Clint showed up hours later, still she had been so wrapped up about what had happened with Loki that she was shocked when Clint marched himself into the apartment. Of course it could have also been because he had grabbed a hold of her shoulders and started shaking her.

"Are you stupid?! What the fuck is wrong with you? Can't you see what Loki is doing? He is using you, playing with your mind!" His shaking continued, though luckily not enough to actually make her sick, but still it was disorienting. A thousand responses popped into her mind, though before Darcy could say anything a door slammed and footsteps sounded through the living room. When Darcy turned her head it was to find Loki standing just a few feet away, watching as Clint continued to shake Darcy.

In the time since she had been watching Loki, she hadn't seen him get angry, but now standing there with his arms clenched at his sides and his mouth pressed in a tight line Darcy knew he was mad.

She was afraid of what would happen if she let the two get after the other, so she pulled herself away from Clint as quickly as possible.

"Get a hold of yourself, Clint. I don't really think that was necessary, now was it?" She tried to make her voice as strong as possible, but she knew she had failed when Loki started to advance on Clint.

"Never touch her again!" Loki's voice was low, a sinister growl rather than a booming yell. It was enough to give her goosebumps.

Knowing things could quickly get out of her control, Darcy slipped in between the two before either of them could do any harm. She kept her back to the wall and both men at her sides, arms out as though she could stop them should they choose to advance. It was a futile move, she knew that, but she had to do something before the two men ripped each other apart.

"Clint was just leaving." She turned to Loki, using as calm a voice as she could. Loki still looked like he wanted to bash the archer's head in, but he had at least stopped moving forward. She turned towards Clint next, hoping against hope the man would listen to her.

"I'll talk to you later." She had a staring contest with him for a moment, before Clint huffed and marched out of the apartment. A muttered 'this isn't over.' following after him.

Once he was gone, Loki rushed over to her. He looked her over, up and down, as though he expected to find a wound.

"Are you hurt?" She smiled at his concern, touched that he was actually worried.

"I'm fine, he didn't do anything. It was just a misunderstanding." Loki, of course, wasn't convinced.

"You are still shaking a bit, come, sit down." He led her to the couch, sitting down beside her, hands clenched tightly between his legs.

"I'm fine, I swear it. No need to worry." Loki shook his head, an anguished expression on his face.

"Barton seems to hate me the most. Tell me Darcy, had I done something to him before I lost my memory?" Darcy reached over, taking one of his hands in her's. It was so cold, almost like ice. She brought it to her lap, curling her other hand around it, trying to impart as much of her own heat into it as she could.

"Don't worry about it, Clint is just stressed right now. His…his daughter was hurt during the battle, and though she is alright now he is still trying to deal with it." Loki didn't look convinced but thankfully let it go.

The two sat in silence for awhile, until Darcy realized what time it was and headed into the kitchen to make dinner. Loki followed, and together they made dinner and set the table.

* * *

 

After dinner when Loki was once again reading his book, Darcy decided it would be the best time to talk to Clint before he came back and him and Loki ended up getting into a fight.

"Hey, I have to talk to Jane about a few things. I'll be back later. Okay?" Loki just nodded his head and continued reading. She smiled at that and left, hoping that things would work out.

She found Clint in the room Tony had set up for target practice. Dummies and targets littered the room. Shelves, racks and tables were lined up along one side, various weapons placed upon them.

Darcy sighed when she saw the archer. Clint was shooting arrows at a dummy that he had tacked a picture of Loki's face on, most of the arrows were stuck in the crotch of the dummy. Sticking out at odd angles as though he had wanted to make sure he hit every piece of wood. She winced a bit, if that was what he wanted to do to Loki. Ouch.

"What, are you five or something?" Clint just turned around, giving her a look that said it would be best if she kept her mouth shut. She didn't of course.

"You're being ridiculous, Clint. Especially with that." She pointed to the practice dummy, five more arrows stuck in the crotch than when she had first entered.

"You can think what you want. Now leave." He turned back, pulling back the string and letting loose an arrow. Darcy watched as it struck home, right between the eyes. Things weren't going very well so far.

"No. Now, I think we need to talk." Another arrow went flying, striking the heart of the wooden dummy. Darcy expected Clint to pull another arrow, instead he whirled around on her, his face contorted in anger.

"Talk? Fine let's talk, how about we talk about what the fuck it is you think you are doing with that bastard? I mean, have you forgotten he is a murderer? Have you forgotten all those kids in the hospital, forgotten my daughter?" Darcy felt sick to her stomach once more. She didn't know how to handle all of this, Clint, Loki, everything.

"Of course I haven't, but things are….complicated." Clint huffed at that. Ok, it did sound lame, but it was the truth.

"How complicated is it? Loki is an insane murderer and he should be dead, not lounging around Stark tower reading and watching movies." Darcy looked at him and shook her head.

"You just didn't understand. I know what Loki has done in the past, but that is what it is, the past. Right now Loki doesn't even know who or what he is, and he doesn't seem like he wants to hurt anyone." Clint ran a hand through his hair, curling his fingers at the crown and pulling harshly before letting go.

"You're crazy, do you know that? What are you going to do when he does remember everything and returns to the way he was?" Darcy knew that was kind of the whole point to her watching him, to keep an eye on him until his memory returned and they could punish him. Still it made her chest hurt to think about the man she had come to know, so lost and sad, returning to the alien that tried to take over her planet.

"If he returns to being evil, I promise I won't stand in the way when it comes to punishing him, but right now he is just a lost little boy in a world where everyone hates him and he doesn't understand why." Clint slammed his bow down on the table a bit too hard before sighing and running his hand through his hair again.

"I'm afraid you might break that promise, that you're already in too deep. Darcy, I don't want to see you get hurt when everything falls apart." Feeling the burning of tears again, Darcy held them in and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his waist, leaning into him, hugging him tight.

"I'll be fine, even if things go that way, I'll be fine. It isn't your job to worry about me, Clint." Sighing, he leaned down and kissed the top of her head, resting his on hers and holding her even tighter.

"That's the problem Sweetheart, my job or not, I do worry about you."


	8. Win-Win

Things calmed down a bit with Clint after her talk with him, but they didn't return to the easy friendship they had before Loki came into the picture. She figured that it could never be that way again. She knew Clint had feelings for her, it was written all over his face. The problem was, he had refused from the beginning to do anything about it, all because of what happened with Carli's mother. And now, even if he wanted to start something, he was too late. Her heart was beginning to belong to another man, and Clint knew it. It was all so complicated, and she hated it.

Clint was still friendly with her when she left the apartment to visit. She would catch him smiling at her when she would play with Carli. But he never came down to visit her anymore, never touched her in a passing way. There were no more hand bushes or hugs, no more sweet kisses to her forehead before he left the Tower. It actually made her sad.

She sighed from where she was sitting on the couch. Besides her problems with Clint, she was also bored. Completely and utterly bored. She was tired of watching movies, there were no books that really interested her in the apartment, she couldn't go out shopping. Not that there was much to actually do outside of the tower, many shops were still trying to fix things from the battle. Still, she was bored.

When she looked over to Loki, he was once again reading. It was something she figured was a part of the real him. She could just imagine him back in his fancy room on Asgard, nose stuck in a book while Thor play battled with their warrior friends.

She sighed again and this time Loki looked up from his book, and raising one elegant brow at her. She shook her head, but smiled wide as an idea came to her. She hopped quickly off the couch, running from room to room, gathering everything she would need.

"Darcy, what are you doing?" She didn't answer, just grabbed a chair from the kitchen and set it in the middle of the living room on top of a sheet. Loki watched as she threw a towel over the back of the chair and pulled a small side table over. She set down a pair of scissors, a comb, and a hand mirror. Once done, she turned to him and gave him a huge smile.

"What in the world do you think you are doing?" Her smile never wavered, just grew bigger as she pointed at the chair.

"I'm going to cut your hair." Both brows lifted that time, before falling as he gave her a rather unimpressed look.

"No." He went back to reading after that, intent on ignoring the widely smiling woman. Annoyed, Darcy marched over and pulled the book from his hands, tossing it onto the couch.

"Come ooooonnnnn! I'm bored and need something to do, and you need a haircut. It will be a win-win situation." She gave a little pout. It had always been her secret weapon, give a little pout and twist of the torso and guys melted. Apparently alien gods were immune as Loki just crossed his arms and looked at her as though she were crazy.

"No, it will not be. If you are so bored, why don't you go visit your friends upstairs? I'm sure Barton and his daughter would be glad to entertain you." Darcy huffed, the man could be so infuriating. But then again, so could she. Not detoured, she grabbed his hands and pulled him toward the chair. She was surprised when he actually allowed her to move him and set him in the chair. She knew she was nowhere strong enough to move him without his help.

"Darcy, I don't want my hair cut. I'm fine with it the way it is." Darcy just continued to ignore him, wrapping the towel around his neck, tucking it between his back and the chair. Loki shut up though as Darcy started running her hands through his hair, her fingers separating and combing the strands. He leaned back into her, making a sound that was almost a purring. The sound shooting straight down Darcy in a tingling heat. Realizing that she was on dangerous ground, Darcy pulled her hands away and grabbed the comb to run through his hair instead.

"Have you done this before?" Loki didn't open his eyes as he spoke, nor did his voice hold the same trepidation it had before.

"Yeah. My mother died when I was very young, so it had just been me and my father growing up. Dad always forgot to get his hair cut, and I would end up having to corner him once it got past his ears so I could cut it.

"I also had this old boyfriend in college that I would cut hair for. So don't worry, I know what I'm doing." She had even seriously thought about doing it for a living when she was in high school. She had gone so far as to look into various schools. In the end it had been the thought of spending day after day washing other people's hair that put her off.

"Fine then, but I don't want it too short. Nothing like the other men that live here." Darcy smiled to herself. Sure, he would look good with a cut like Steve's or Tony's, but that wasn't really him.

"That's fine, but seriously, you need it cut. Your hair will soon be longer than mine if you don't watch it."

For awhile Darcy worked in silence, cutting and combing. Once finished she set down the scissors and walked in front of him, turned his chin up so he was looking at her and smoothed the sides of his hair between her fingers. Just as he had asked, she left it long, just below his ear lobes. She had layered it just a bit, not enough to give him an emo look, but enough to frame his face.

She didn't realize that she was still running her fingers through his hair until he grabbed her wrists, pulled them out of his hair and then proceeded to slip his own hand across her cheek to pull her down to him. He pressed his lips to hers, kissing her so sweetly she thought she would melt.

It was soft and sensual at the same time, their lips sliding slowly together, his tongue slipping inside her mouth so carefully. Darcy had been kissed many times before, everything from sweet kisses to rough passion filled ones that left her lips swollen and blood on her tongue. But she had never been kissed like this, with such longing and hope.

When they finally pulled apart, Darcy was left dazed and Loki looked frightened. He stood up quickly, looking at anything but her.

"I'm sorry." Without another word he took off to his room, almost running. Darcy listened as the door slammed shut and the lock clicked in place. For her part, Darcy, sighed heavily and tried to keep the few tears in her eyes from falling. She didn't know what to make of Loki's reaction, mostly since he was the one to fucking kiss her! Instead of thinking about it, Darcy cleaned up the living room, even running the vacuum to get any stray hairs that may have missed the sheet.

She was in the kitchen making dinner when Jane showed up. Darcy tried to ignore her, but Jane always had this way of staring at Darcy quietly that was just as bad as when her father used to scold her. Finally Darcy couldn't take it any longer and turned to look at Jane.

"Alright, I know, ok? I know!" Jane just shook her head and sat down at the table, looking over to where Darcy was cutting up tomatoes for the salad.

"Everyone is freaking out upstairs…..ever since Tony played back the video feed on all available screens." Darcy whirled around with an incredulous look on her face.

"What, do you all spend your days watching that damn feed? Ya know, when this all started, I thought only Fury was suppose to have access to that." Jane shrugged her shoulders in a 'what can I tell you?' sort of way.

"Fury ordered that Clint and Nat have access of course, and if they are gone on a mission or something any of the rest of us are suppose to be able to watch as well." Darcy looked like she was going to explode. It was bad enough that Fury watched her every move, but to know that everyone else was too! She hoped to God that Tony hadn't been lying about no cameras in the bathroom, or she was going to kill someone.

"It isn't that we're being perverted or anything, it's for your own protection. We can't leave it to chance that Loki won't do anything to you." Darcy practically growled and turned to continue cooking.

"I'm sorry, Darcy. Still, I think we should talk about what happened." Darcy started chopping vegetables until they were unrecognizable, pretending they were the Avengers.

"I don't want to, it has nothing to do with you or SHIELD. So I would like it if everyone would just back off!"

"That's going to be a little hard. I pretty much figure that Fury is going to make it S.H.I.E.L.D. business. I mean, for goodness sake, you had just been kissing the prisoner you were charged with watching!" Darcy sliced into a carrot rather harshly, the tip flinging across the kitchen.

"Loki isn't a prisoner…."

"I know you're not that stupid, Darcy. You've known the moment you were given the job that he was. The only reason why he isn't in a high security prison right now is because Fury thinks you just might be right. Tony even thinks that Fury is hoping that you  _are_  right." Darcy's hand stilled, her head turning back to look at Jane.

"What do you mean?" All of the Avengers seemed to hope that she was wrong, all of them just itching to punish Loki.

"Loki right now doesn't know who he is, he is a clean slate, something that can be molded. Tony says that Fury would kill to be able to own a weapon like him. To be able to control the man that holds so much power and magic." Darcy sat down her knife, cleaned her hands and sat at the table across from Jane. It didn't really shock her, but it did piss her off. When she had said what she did that day at the hospital, this was not what she had in mind.

Jane reached across the table and squeezed her hand before withdrawing.

"After Tony played the video feed, everything just went out of control. Erik and Steve were shocked, couldn't understand why you would have done such a thing, in fact they think Loki is controlling you.

"Bruce didn't really say anything, just shook his head a little. Tony made a bunch of rude remarks, but that seems to be just him. It's Nat and Clint though, Nat said you had been compromised and left to inform Fury. Clint…..Clint had the worst reaction, he actually threw the glass of water he had been drinking across the room and started cursing. Sacred little Carli so much she went crying to Pepper." Jane watched as Darcy's shoulders slumped even more. She had had some idea that something had been going on between the two. Everyone had noticed how they sort of danced around each other. It was kind of cute before everything that happened with Loki started.

"He's still up there now, it took Tony, Bruce and Steve to restrain him. He wanted to come down here and kill Loki. Darcy, do you know why he reacted that way? Is there something going on between you two?" She didn't think Darcy was the type to mess around on her boyfriend, but then again, she hadn't thought she was the type to fool around with an evil murderer either.

"No, there could have been when I first came here, but Clint is the one that put a halt to everything."

"It doesn't look like he wants it that way." Darcy scoffed at that. That was just like a man. Someone needed to knock some sense into him.

"Too bad, he's a little too late." Jane cocked her head to the side, her eyes getting a little glassy.

"Oh Darcy, really?" Darcy ran a hand through her hair, she hadn't actually meant to say that.

"It wasn't planned, it just happened. I never meant to act on it though, Loki was the one that took it to the next step. Not that I know what he is thinking, after he kissed me he ran off, locked himself in his room and hasn't come out." Darcy wondered why men of any species were so stupid.

"You need to be careful, we don't know what has happened to him. Who knows if his memory is gone for good, you could get really hurt if he remembers everything." Darcy felt like throwing things. Did she have to be reminded of that fact all the damn time?

"I know, I've already had this conversation with Clint, thank you very much." Jane started to say something else, but Darcy held out her hand to stall her.

"Just don't, alright? You better get back up stairs, if Clint is still upset you and Pepper will most likely have to look after Carli while he blows off steam." Jane looked like she was going to say something else, but just stood up instead and went around to hug Darcy before leaving.

* * *

 

Darcy was sitting in the kitchen after making dinner, the table set, the food ready, but Loki had never shown up, and now after two hours the food was ice cold. Tired of the way he was acting, and wanting answers, Darcy stood up to confront him when Fury walked through the kitchen door.

Without a word he started filling a plate, sat down at the table, and after taking a bite of the cold mashed potatoes pushed the plate away and looked at Darcy.

She couldn't tell if he was angry about the kiss or what. The man had the best poker face she had ever seen. After a few minutes where Fury just stared at her and she squirmed, Fury spoke.

"I chose you for a reason, Miss Lewis. The job I assigned you to do is a very important one….." Scared of where he was going with his little speech, Darcy spoke up to defend herself.

"I'm sorry, I know what you saw on the video was probably not what you had meant when you gave me this job. I….." Fury raised a hand up, stopping her from babbling any further.

"Calm yourself Miss Lewis. What happened between you and Loki has always been one of the many scenarios I knew was possible. You put a good looking woman such as yourself in an apartment with a young, well relatively young, man and force them to spend time with each other, one of three things will happen. They will become friends, they will kill each other, or they will end up fucking each other's brains out.

"The second scenario was one I was willing to take a chance with, but the other two were desirable." Darcy looked up at him, eyes wide.

"Tony was right! You plan to use Loki…..you plan on using me to control him!" Fury nodded his head, ignoring the heated glare she was sending his way.

"I knew before I entered that room about Loki's memory loss. I am a soldier, Miss Lewis, when I see an advantage for my side I take it. Loki possesses great power, both mentally and magically. To be able to control such power, to team it with the Avengers. What they could do together would be phenomenal.

"But I knew gaining control of that power would be difficult. You, yourself, have seen first hand how the others treat him. They never would have been able to gain Loki's trust and allegiance.

"When you spoke up for him, I saw a chance and seized it. No, I could not predict how things would turn out, or hope for more than a friendship. But yes, Miss Lewis, a romantic attachment was the preferred outcome."

Darcy didn't say anything, watching as Fury stood from the table and came over to rest a hand on her shoulder. His fingers squeezed slightly, the leather of his gloves squeaking as he did so.

"Do not worry, Miss Lewis. You are doing well, just because it benefits S.H.I.E.L.D. doesn't mean your feelings aren't real, or that to continue to act on those feelings is wrong. It's a win-win situation, Miss Lewis."

Fury left after that, leaving a fuming Darcy in the kitchen. It was a few more minutes before she could find the strength to stand. When she did she went straight to her room. She wasn't hungry anymore.


	9. A Misunderstanding Understood

Thor was restless, not knowing for sure where his brother was. His mother hadn't actually told him, but from what he had been able gather from the conversation with her, was that Loki was on Midgard. Though he had no idea where exactly. To matters worse, he had been ordered to remain on Asgard, his mother refusing to allow him to find Loki until the time in which she told him was right.

It had been too long, weeks, months, too long without word of his brother. During his days he tried to keep busy, training with his friends and dodging Sif's advances. She just couldn't understand his attraction to Jane, and not that he felt like explaining it either.

But even keeping busy didn't help, there was tension in the palace. His mother and father barely spoke to one another anymore. He knew his father was angry for what his mother had done, but Thor couldn't help but be thankful. It wasn't that his father didn't love Loki, but when it came to disciplining him he could sometimes be a bit harsh. Thor wasn't sure what his father had planned before his mother stepped in, and he really didn't want to think on it.

Thor was currently lounging in the great hall, watching as his friends joked, laughed and ate as though nothing had happened. It struck him then, how little they missed Loki. Not one of them had shed a tear when they thought him dead. They had given condolences to him and his family, but thinking back on it he realized they had not been sincere. Even now they didn't mention him.

Growing up it had always been the six of them, the princes and the warriors. Only now did Thor notice certain things. How they always followed him around, but refused to do anything Loki wanted unless Thor agreed. How their teasing was more cruel than anything, intended to hurt and offend. How they always tried to exclude him from things and were quick to blame him when anything went wrong. Sure, Loki had been behind a lot of the mischief through the years, but not everything. And certainly not some of the things Sif had blamed him for. It hurt to realize that his brother hadn't had any real friends growing up. He hoped that wherever he was he had someone, a friend.

* * *

 

Darcy had overslept. That was apparent the moment she opened her eyes and saw the glowing red numbers of her alarm clock. Damn, she hadn't slept past noon since the summer after high school.

She quickly jumped from bed, ran for her bathroom, washed, dressed and went in search of food.

The moment she entered the living room, poptart in hand, Darcy knew something was wrong. The chair in which Loki normally sat and read during the day was empty. In fact looking around the room she realized he must've never left his room. Not even to eat.

Darcy sighed, this was stupid. Everything was stupid. Her feelings for a war criminal, said criminal's confusing behavior. Clint, Fury, all stupid. And she was tired of it all. Though her job at the law firm had been boring, at least there was no emotional turmoil involved.

Marching back into the kitchen, she threw the poptart in the trash and got to work on making pancakes. It was something her father had done while she was growing up. When Darcy was down her dad would whip up a batch of his famous pancakes and the two of them would eat them while watching cartoons. She wondered briefly what her father would think of Loki, but stopped that train of thought before it could go any further. That was a subject for another day.

Once she had finished, she made a plate and went to Loki's door. It was still locked so she used her foot to knock on it since her hands were full.

"If you don't open this door in the next three minutes I'm going to borrow one of Tony's robots to come and knock it down." And she would too, even if she had to hijack the damn thing. She was just so tired of everything, and she really didn't want to put up with anymore of Loki's confusing behavior.

At the three minute mark the door clicked open. Darcy stood in the doorway watching as Loki walked back to his bed completely ignoring her. She figured she was going to have to do the talking. She walked in, set the tray down on his lap and smiled softly at him.

"What is this?" He didn't look angry at least, though he did look like a kicked puppy. It definitely did help things that she now wanted to hug him and not let go.

"They're happy face pancakes! No one can be sad when they have happy face pancakes." Her smile was bit forced, but she hoped Loki didn't notice.

Loki didn't smile, but still dug into his breakfast.

"Loki…I don't understand what happened yesterday…." Before she could continue Loki looked sharply up at her, that kicked puppy look increasing.

"I'm sorry, Darcy. I never should have presumed to kiss you. Just because you've been nice to me doesn't mean that you want me that way. I was wrong to act the way I did." Darcy was speechless for a moment, how could she tell him that his kiss had been the most romantic and wonderful thing that had ever happened to her? That if she had her way, he would toss that plate across the room and take her right there in his bed?

"There is nothing to be sorry for. Had I not liked it, I would have pulled away and slapped you." Loki looked at her confused for a second. Coupled with the kicked puppy look, she almost expected him to cock his head to the side.

"What about your lover? Would he not have a problem with my advances?" She was the one to look confused that time. Lover? What the fuck was he talking about?

"What in the world do you mean? I don't have a lover."

"Is not Barton your lover? I have seen you two together many times since I've arrived. The way he looks at you, his possessiveness of you. I have even seen him kiss you." Darcy frowned, she hadn't realized that Loki had noticed any of that.

"We're not lovers."

"Then what about the kiss, the way he treats you? I am sorry, but I do not understand. If you are not lovers, then why?" Why indeed. That was a questions she had been asking herself since Thor first landed in New Mexico. She still hadn't found an answer.

"Clint does have feelings for me, I know that. But because of personal reasons he refuses to act on them. It doesn't matter anyway, because I don't want him. I want….." She trailed off before looking up at Loki who was watching her closely. That pitiful look finally gone, instead replaced with the most hopeful expression she had ever seen on him.

"I want you." Loki breathed a sigh of relief, set the plate of pancakes on the side table and grabbed a hold of Darcy's face.

"Barton is a fool." And with that he proceeded to kiss the ever living shit out of her.

* * *

 

A few floors up, Clint sat at a monitor watching as Darcy and Loki kissed. He was just as mad as he had been the day before, but he was also more hurt than anything. Darcy had been right, he had feelings for her, and by the pain in his chest they were strong feelings. Stronger than he realized. But he had missed his chance, and it was his fault.

He clicked off the screen unable to watch where the scene playing out might go, and leaned over, placing his head in his hands. He hadn't let fear rule him for so long, priding himself on being able to get the job done no matter what. If he had just been able to apply that to his personal life, it could have been him in the arms of Darcy. He would have been the one kissing her, loving her, waking up beside her. But he had been scared and had let that hold him back. Now it was too late.

He remained hunched over until he felt two little hands trying to pry his own off his face. He looked up to find Carli standing in front of him, looking at him with a face so similar to her mother's it actually hurt. She had been a good woman, she hadn't deserved to die. Hadn't deserved what he had done to her by leaving her and their daughter.

Carli climbed up on his lap, put one of her tiny hands on his cheek and pressed a kiss to the other. She then wrapped her arms around his neck and curled up against him. She didn't go to sleep, just held onto him as though she realized that he was upset and this was her way of saying she was there for him.

Clint wrapped his arms around her and held her tightly against him. He may have lost Darcy, but he still had his daughter, and that he wasn't about to mess up.

* * *

 

Frigga looked out over Asgard from the balcony of her chambers, awaiting her son. It wouldn't be long now before both of her children were there with her once more. She could feel it, could see it. Life in the palace would soon be filled with laughter again, and love, always love.


	10. The Beginning Of The End

Thor entered his parent's chambers, wondering what his mother had summoned him for. Though fruitless, he hoped that she would have news of his brother. More so that she would inform him of Loki's return.

She was standing on the balcony, her curved frame edged in golden light. She looked so delicate, like a fine piece of art glass. But Thor knew the truth of it, one would never dare cross his mother, to do so could very well mean their death. He walked up beside her, gazing out over the kingdom he would one day rule.

"It is time for you to go to your brother. He will need you soon." Shocked, he turned to look at his mother. Her voice sounded weary, such a thing did not bode well for his brother.

"Where is he?" Thor feared where Loki may have been sent. He was on a world that he had tried to subjugate, Thor didn't want to think about what the people of Midgard might do to him.

"He is with your mortal friends on Midgard. But Thor, beware. Loki is not as he once was."

"What do you mean?" His mother finally turned to look at him, her face unsmiling.

"Loki is more damaged than you ever were. You were simply arrogant, a young man that believed himself infallible. Loki, he was hurt far deeper. Between your father's obvious favoring of you and finding out his true parentage pushed him over the edge.

"It is going to take something drastic to change him, something more than just the love of a woman. Loki needs to feel guilt and remorse for what he has done. I have merely led him down the path in which he will find both." She gave him a sad smile before turning back towards Asgard.

"You are to leave as soon as possible. You are not to return until you believe Loki to be ready."

Recognizing that as a dismissal, Thor turned to leave, stopping at the door to look back at his mother. She wasn't watching him, just looking out over Asgard. He wondered if things would ever go back to the way that they were. Maybe things had just changed so much that no matter what happened they could never go back. He wasn't sure if that was a good thing or a bad one.

* * *

 

The kiss between Darcy and Loki hadn't gone much further. Loki seemed intent on keeping his hands at shoulder level, much to Darcy's annoyance. Still when they pulled away from each other Darcy was satisfied and smiling.

Darcy had laughed at the smug smile he flashed her. Though she couldn't help but wonder if that was the first time someone had chosen him over another. It hurt too much to think about, so she leaned in and gave him a sweet little kiss.

It had been another ten minutes before Loki declared that he was hungry, and the two left his room and entered the kitchen. Darcy had proceeded then to make a fresh batch of pancakes along with eggs and bacon, which they completely finished before going to the living room to resume their normal every day routine. Only this time Loki sat on the couch beside Darcy, and the two would randomly touch and flash smiles at each other. Loki would even lean in for a kiss every few minutes, which made Darcy actually giggle like a school girl.

The entire day, Darcy was just waiting for either Clint to show up angry or Jane to come down and admonish her for her behavior. When by the time that her and Loki had retired to their rooms, and no one had even sent her a text, she figured either Fury had said something or no one had actually looked at the video feed. Whichever one it was, she was thankful for it, she wasn't yet ready to face the Avengers about her budding romance with one of their enemies.

It was about three in the morning when she heard him, it seemed his nightmares had finally started. She slid from her bed and padded her way to his room. Opening the door, she prepared to rest herself in the doorway as she normal. She was just leaning down when she realized that something was different. Normally he whimpered, tossed and turned a bit, even mumbled incoherently. This time she could actually make out his words.

She entered the room, and carefully sat down on the side of the bed. She didn't really know what to do, but she hated to see him in pain. When she leaned down, smoothing out the hair on his forehead, she began to understand his seemingly random choice of words and quickly shot back up.

Dread filled her as she realized he was dreaming of the battle. She heard him mumble commands, bits and pieces of the conversation he had had with Tony, even heard him talking to Thor. She knew it wouldn't be long before he remembered everything if his subconscious already did.

Loki gasped in his sleep, jolting to the side as though he had been hit, but didn't wake up. Making a decision, Darcy rested down beside Loki on the bed, grabbed the throw blanket at the foot and covered herself up with it. She turned on her side, wrapping her arm around Loki. He immediately calmed down as soon as she hugged him tight to her, even snuggling up close. She would deal with the fact that she could very easily loose Loki before she really had him in the morning. For now it was enough to offer him comfort and take some in return within his arms.


	11. Farewell, Sweet Lady

When Darcy woke up the next morning, it was to a set of warm arms wrapped tightly around her. Her eyes fluttered open, raising up to meet those of Loki's. He looked down at her with a rather confused smile. It was really cute and Darcy found herself blushing at the thought. Loki, God of Lies, cute?

She knew he was waiting for an explanation. When they had gone to sleep the night before they had each been in their own beds. It was something that she knew he would question, though she wasn't sure what to say was the answer. She really didn't want to bring up his nightmares, unsure as she was about whether or not he realized he was having them. She knew it was probably wrong of her, but she didn't want to do anything that would advance his memories returning.

"I couldn't sleep last night, and thought what the hell, Loki won't mind." She shrugged her shoulders and smiled as he laughed, hugging her to him even tighter than before. After a moment he let go and got out of bed. Darcy remained in bed, watching as his svelte form walked into his bathroom. It took her own bladder screaming at her before she ventured to her own bathroom and then to the kitchen for breakfast.

Breakfast was a quiet affair, both of them seeming to have silently agreed not to mention the fact that Darcy had spent the night in Loki's bed. She wasn't sure what to make of it, whether he was embarrassed by it or just accepted it as part of the next step in their relationship.

They were cleaning up the kitchen when Darcy decided that she really needed to talk to someone. Everything, from her talk with Fury to Loki's nightmares were weighing heavily on her, and she needed to get it out before she exploded.

"I hope you don't mind, but I'm going to go visit Jane." Loki lifted a brow at her in a sort of 'whatever' way.

"Darcy, it is not like you need to ask me. Whatever this is between us does not give me the right to dictate what you do. I know that they are your friends, and I will not ask you to stop seeing them just because I'm not their favorite person." Darcy smiled sweetly at him. She hadn't really been asking, but if she was honest with herself she knew that she was also looking for acceptance. Her and Loki were something to each other now, and her other friends made no qualms about showing their dislike of him. She wondered, if Loki had shown even the slightest bit of annoyance with her going, would she had remained with him instead of seeing Jane? It was weird to contemplate as she had never been that girl before.

"I know, but this is so new between us I wasn't sure if you would be insulted if I just left." He gave her a lopsided smile and walked over to plant a sweet, chaste kiss on her lips.

"I'm flattered, Love, but being deprived of your presence will not send me into histrionics. Go, spend time with your friends, there will be plenty of time for us this evening." Darcy stuck out her tongue only to have Loki pull her to him and kiss her absolutely silly. When he pulled back, he winked at her and shooed her off with a soft laugh.

* * *

 

Darcy found Jane in the lab, looking like she had probably been there since five in the morning. She waved to Erik and Bruce before going up to Jane and grasping her arm.

"Jane, I need to talk, urgently." She then proceeded to drag Jane out of the lab and to the shared kitchen. Jane protesting the entire time.

"You know Darc, you didn't have to drag me here. I would have come." Darcy rolled her eyes at that. Right, Jane rarely would even stop working to go to the bathroom. Hell Darcy had actually seen the woman squirming where she stood trying to get one last equation written out before heading to the bathroom. The woman was going to seriously damage herself one day.

She poured them each a cup of coffee, knowing that Jane probably needed one by then. Plus, didn't all heart to hearts involve coffee?

"Alright Darc, what is the matter?" Darcy sighed, sinking down in a chair that Tony probably paid more for than Darcy's first car. She wasn't sure just where to begin, there was too much floating around in her head. Finally she took a sip of her coffee before looking over to Jane.

"Tony was right, Fury plans to use Loki's memory loss as a way to gain him as an asset for S.H.I.E.L.D. And not just that, he is using me as the means to get him. He had the whole damn thing planned out. He stuck Loki and I in that apartment hoping that we would either become friends or start fucking each other! He's hoping to use Loki's trust and feelings for me to sway him towards S.H.I.E.L.D." Just thinking about it was making Darcy wish she had tasered the asshat right in the balls.

"I pretty much figured so. I mean at least after Fury told Nat to back off when she told him about the kiss. She was ready to go down there with Clint and kill Loki, but Fury told us that we were to monitor only. We weren't allowed to interfere unless he was forcing or hurting you." Darcy nodded, but didn't say anything.

"Darc, is there something else that is bothering you besides Fury's plans?" Jane could be blind to the world around her sometimes, but she could be perceptive when she wanted to be.

"Loki's been having nightmares pretty much since he came to stay with us. Last night though…it was worse. He actually spoke instead of just murmuring, he was talking about the battle. I'm worried…ok make that fucking scared, because I know that it is a sign that his memories are returning. It's stupid I know, I've been stupid, starting whatever this is, but…Fuck Jane! I could loose him and it scares me shitless." A few tears snuck their way past her lids, but thankfully Jane didn't make any comment about them.

"You don't know that. About his memories or loosing him." Darcy gave her a look that clearly said she though the woman was stupid.

"How long do you think it is going to take before he remembers everything, or even enough? As it is he's already been able to remember certain things, snippets of his past. And I'm not sure what to do." Darcy rested her head on one of her hands. She had heard things from Clint, about how Loki hated mortals. Thought they were beneath him, fit only to be ruled. Clint had told her that he seemed to see humans as nothing more significant than dogs. She really didn't want to think about what he would do once he realized that he had been kissing and sleeping by one.

"You already know how I feel about what you're doing with Loki, but it isn't my place to tell you what to do. Darcy, think about what it is that you want. If you really want a relationship with Loki enough to risk his memories returning and things going wrong, than that is what you should do. It all boils down to if you are willing to take a chance, to take that leap of faith on Loki."

"Is that what you did with Thor?" Jane looked really tired for a moment, and Darcy almost felt bad for bringing Thor up.

"Yes. I knew I stood a great chance of being hurt by falling in love with him, but I took it all the same because loving him is worth it, even if I get hurt in the end." With that she stood up, setting her cup in the sink, and left Darcy to think.

After awhile of sitting alone in the room, Clint walked into the kitchen with what looked like pant all over his hands. Bright pink and purple paint. Darcy raised a brow at him and he just gave her a lopsided smile that she couldn't help but think was cute.

"I was finger painting with Carli." Darcy nodded and continued to drink her now ice cold coffee. She wasn't sure how to act around Clint anymore, even more so now since she was beginning a relationship with the man that had led to the injury of his child and the death of the girl's mother.

Clint was the one to finally break the silence after he washed his hands and leaned back against the counter.

"I want you to know that I understand that it's my fault. I told you about my interest in you and then refused to take action. I have no right to get angry should you choose to be with someone else.

"I don't know what I was thinking, that you would pine for me, wait around until I got my head out of my ass. It was stupid of me, and I'm sorry." He wasn't looking at her, his head bowed as if in shame. It made Darcy feel weird. Sure it was his fault, he had been the one to back off, to refuse any kind of relationship when at the beginning Darcy would have been very open to one. Time and time again he made small advances only to pull away leaving Darcy confused and annoyed. Still, she couldn't help feeling sad for him. He was just a scared little boy under it all.

"It's alright, Clint. Nothing really went the way any of us planned." He laughed hollowly at that, but at least he didn't looked so pitiful anymore.

"No, it didn't. You know, no matter what I said, it doesn't stop me from wanting to put a few arrows through Loki?" She shook her head at him, quietly laughing.

"I know, and I won't ask you to forgive and make friends with him. All I ask is that you not kill him, I know you're not happy about it, but I do care for him."

Clint smiled sadly, his eyes looking suspiciously wet. She watched as Clint walked over to her, grabbed her hand and pulled her carefully up out of her chair. She looked at him strange as he stood closer.

"Clint, what do you think…." Her protests were quickly quieted when his lips smashed against her's. The kiss was both frantic and sorrowful, all lips and tongue, and the taste of tears. It only lasted a moment, Clint pulling back from her just enough to rest his forehead against her's. His eyes remained closed, but Darcy's were wide open, staring at his drawn face.

"Goodbye Darcy." Clint stood back fully then, and gave her a sad smile. She smiled back, reaching out to squeeze his arm.

"You will find someone someday, someone you are willing to take a chance on." She reached up and placed a kiss on his forehead before turning and leaving.

Clint watched her leave, his heart hammering in his chest.

"I don't think so, Sweetheart. Three strikes and you're out."

* * *

 

Thor looked up at Stark Tower, remembering what it had looked like when he had returned home after the battle. His brother had destroyed much of the top floors, but Tony must have worked to get the Tower back in order as quickly as possible.

He couldn't believe that his brother had been with them the whole time. It almost frightened him, thinking about what the others may have done to his brother. They were all good people, but Loki had done much to them, hurt them. He had killed Coulson, and he figured no matter how good of people they were, they would never forgive him for that.

Doubting that the door would be unlocked, Thor swung his hammer and lifted himself up on the balcony. He had expected to see Tony and Bruce, possibly Steve as well, what he hadn't expected was to see his Jane talking to some redheaded woman. He stood there just outside the windowed wall watching as she smiled and laughed. He had missed her so much.

Jane turned towards the window, her smile falling as she stopped talking. Within an instant she was running for the door to the balcony, throwing it open and running out and into his arms. He caught her midair, swinging her around before putting her down. He kissed her then, harsh and with an almost desperation, only pulling back when the need to breathe burned at his lungs.

"I have missed you. I worried that I would never see you again." Jane was close to tears, her arms refusing to let go of his neck. She was scared if she let go it would all turn out to be some sort of hallucination. She wasn't sure if she would be able to handle that.

"I have missed you too, My Jane. I am sorry it has taken so long. I would not have stayed away as long as I have if I had been able to help it."

Thor looked up from Jane only to see the gathering Avengers inside the tower. It seemed the red haired woman had notified them while he had been in Jane's arms. They were all watching him. He laughed, nudging Jane to turn around. He laughed even harder when her face turned bright red. The two of them walked back inside then, Thor eager to see his friends once more.

"Not that it isn't nice seeing you Point Break, but what do we owe for the visit?" Thor's smile fell off his face, looking serious at Tony's question.

"I am here because of Loki." Everyone's smile fell at that. Jane looked up at him confused. She had thought if he had known where his brother was he would have been there long ago.

"How did you know Loki is here?" Thor looked down at her, his face as solemn as she had ever seen it.

"Mother told me. She sent him here as punishment for his crimes. She has informed me that it is time for me come for him, that Loki will have need of me." No one spoke for awhile. It was Bruce that finally spoke up, voicing what was on all their minds.

"So, Darcy was right after all?" Tony and Clint could be heard cursing under their breaths. They hadn't really wanted it to be true, hoping that he had somehow escaped. They wanted to have a reason to punish him themselves for what he had done. It was their planet after all that he had tried to take over, their people that he had killed.

"Lady Darcy? What does she have to do with my brother?" Jane sighed, not sure how to tell Thor about what was going on between his brother and Darcy. In the end she decided to leave it, telling him the most basic of what was happening.

"Darcy's the one taking care of Loki. She has insisted from the beginning that this was his punishment from Asgard." Thor looked thoughtful for a moment. When he had known her, Darcy hadn't seemed that aware of the world. It seemed as though he had underestimated her.

"He is here, now?" Jane nodded her head.

"I wish to be taken to him now. Mother has informed me that he will need me, I do not wish to tarry." Jane looked over everyone in the room before grabbing Thor's hand, leading him to the elevator and down. Thor looked confused once they arrived at the apartment.

"Where are we going? This does not look like the cell S.H.I.E.L.D. used last time." Jane patted his hand that she was still holding.

"He's not staying in a cell, Tony had an apartment fixed up, Loki and Darcy live there." Jane knocked before opening the door, she figured now that Darcy and Loki were an item they could have been up to something. Even though every move they made was recorded, she would rather not walk in on the live show.

Thor and Jane walked into the apartment together, and straight to the kitchen where the two had been having dinner. Darcy stood up when she saw Thor, running towards him with her arms out wide ready to hug him, but stopped halfway there. She looked up at him, tears threatening to fall.

"You're here to take him away, aren't you?" Thor looked at the way Darcy looked at him and his brother sitting at the table with a curious look on his face.

Loki stood up, taking a couple of steps towards Thor. Thor readied himself for a fight, but Loki just looked at him, his face pinched in confusion.

"I know you, right?"


	12. A Glimpse Of Me

Thor looked back and forth between the three others in the room. This was…unexpected. He had been prepared for a fight from the moment his mother had told him to go to Midgard. He knew of his brother's anger at him, and he doubted it had cooled. In fact he had expected Loki to be even more furious, having been stuck on Midgard. Instead he found this, a man that looked the perfect image of his brother, but radiated no anger or hate. It was strange.

"Do you not recognize me?" Loki shook his head, his shorter hair flicking around his face softly. Thor's chest ached, this man was reminiscent of his brother of old.

"You look familiar, but I can not actually place you. Where is it that we have met before?" Thor looked to Darcy, his brows drawn tightly together.

"What has happened to my brother?" Darcy's eyes went wide, she had thought for sure Thor would've known.

"I don't know, this is how we found him."

"Brother? You're my brother?" Loki's voice sounded not only confused, but upset. Darcy nodded at him when he turned to her.

"You knew all along about this and didn't tell me?" Darcy didn't know what to say, didn't know what to do to take that look of hurt off of Loki's face. In the end she watched helplessly as Loki left the room, wincing as he slammed his bedroom door.

"What is going on?" Jane, realizing Darcy was less than worthless at the moment, directed Thor to sit at the kitchen table. Darcy followed suit, setting her elbows on the table and her head in her hands.

"He was found in the hospital not long after you returned with him to Asgard. Darcy and Clint were the ones to find him. He had no memory of what happened or who he was. No one really knew what was going on, whether he had been sent here or he had overpowered you and fled back to Earth. It didn't help when no one knew how to contact you for help.

"In the end Fury decided that Loki needed to be looked after, he tasked Darcy with taking care of him." Thor looked to the Darcy, the young woman looked tired all of a sudden.

"Why didn't Fury imprison him? Why this?" Darcy picked her head up at that, fire blazing in her eyes. Jane shook her head, trying to signal for her to keep her mouth shut, but Darcy just ignored her.

"Fury plans to "reform" Loki and recruit him to S.H.I.E.L.D. and the Avengers." Darcy's voice was bitter as she said this, though Thor wasn't sure why. The thought of his brother fighting by his side, fighting against evil, was something he sorely longed for.

"I am not sure how Fury plans to accomplish such a task, but I would be delighted if my brother was to see the error of his ways and was to join me at my side. It is where he was always meant to be." Jane could see the flicker of annoyance in Darcy's eyes, and sought to cut her off before she started in on Fury's plans.

"Why is it that you didn't know about Loki's memory loss?" It was something that was eating at her. Had something happened to Loki after being sent to Earth?

"I had no knowledge of my brother's punishment, besides the fact that Mother sent him to a place where he would be taught a lesson. I had only an idea that it had been Midgard, but nothing beyond that." Thor sighed, his gaze following where he brother had run off to.

"Loki's memory loss is most likely a part of his punishment. It sounds very much like something Mother would do, her lessons are less bloody than Father's, though no less creative."

After a few moments of silence, Darcy stood up. She figured Loki wouldn't be returning to the kitchen anytime soon.

"Look, I'm going to go talk to Loki. I'm sure he is mad at me, I'm not sure what I can do, but I'm going to try and explain what I can." She gave a halfhearted smile and left. Thor watched her for a moment before turning back to Jane.

"How does Fury plan to gain Loki's trust?" Jane hesitated for a moment, not really wanting to tell him about Fury's manipulation and the using of his brother's feelings against him. Thor gave her a look, as though he knew she was about to lie, and she sighed.

"He's planning on using Darcy to get to him, that is why he put her in charge of him. He was hoping that something would happen between the two of them. Romantically. And he would be able to use Loki's feelings towards Darcy as a means to get him to work for him." Thor didn't look happy, in fact he looked just about as pissed as Darcy had been at the thought.

"Has something happened between my brother and Lady Darcy?" Jane nodded, no use in trying to lie now.

"Yes, though I'm not sure how far it has gone really. I know they both have feelings for one another, even acknowledged and acted on those feelings. But I'm not sure if it has gone beyond simply kissing or not." Thor's eyes burned for a moment, as though he wanted to smash something with his hammer.

"I never figured that Lady Darcy would be the type to use a person." Jane shot up from the table, upset that Thor would actually believe that Darcy would do such a thing.

"She isn't using Loki! Darcy is just as angry about what Fury is doing as you are. She didn't know of his plans when her and Loki acted on their feelings. When she found out she hadn't known what to do. Darcy came to me upset, she doesn't want to use Loki like that. I really do believe her feelings for him are true, all she seems to want to do is help him."

"I like Lady Darcy, so you better be right, because no matter what, Loki is still my brother."

* * *

 

Darcy knocked on Loki's door, not really expecting him to answer. She tried the doorknob after a few minutes, surprised when it opened for her.

Loki was sitting on his bed, arms crossed and head back with his eyes closed. She couldn't tell how mad he was, there was no tick in his jaw like there was when her dad was mad. No evil glare like Fury, flaring nostrils like Clint, nothing. He looked more relaxed than anything, though she knew that was a lie.

"What do you think you are doing?" His eyes remained closed as Darcy sat down on the end of the bed. She wanted to reach out, place a hand on his thigh or something, but held herself back.

"I came to see if you were alright." Loki laughed then, but it was anything but a happy sound. It made Darcy cringe.

"Alright? How can I be alright? All this time living here, unable to remember who I am….I knew you knew something. I guessed that much, between you knowing my name and how Barton and the others treat me, it wasn't too far a leap to take.

"But Darcy, how much do you know about me? Everything? Don't you? You know who I am, why the others hate me, you know it all?" His eyes opened then, staring down at Darcy as though she had betrayed him. Maybe she had, but she had only his best interests at heart.

"I don't know everything, but yes, I do know a bit." Loki turned on the bed, his eyes piercing her's.

"Tell me! Who am I?!" She shook her head, she just couldn't.

"Why? It is my right to know." Darcy held back tears, afraid she had lost him.

"Yes, it is your right, but it would be best if you allowed the memories to return naturally. I know a bit about you, but not enough. You could take what I have to say the wrong way."

Loki looked at her funny, his brows pinched together as he tried to understand what she had told him. Suddenly he shot up from the bed, pacing the room back and forth for several minutes before stopping and coming to sit back down beside Darcy. He set his head in his hands, leaning down. He made a pitiful sight. It was seriously breaking her heart.

"I have done something bad haven't I?" Darcy remained quiet, a thick lump stuck in the middle of her throat. His head snapped up to look at her when she didn't say anything.

"Haven't I?! I've done something, that is why the others look at me the way they do, that is why I am not allowed to leave here. It has nothing to do with me being unable to remember, I'm a prisoner…and you are my warden? Is that it? What is it that I have done? Darcy what is it?" She shook her head, her battle with tears lost as a couple trickle down her cheeks.

"I don't want to say." Her voice was so little, weak. He set his head back down in his hands, his whole body shaking.

"It was that horrible, was it?" Darcy set her hand on his shoulder, but he shrugged it off. She tried not to feel offended at that, he was upset after all, but she couldn't help it. Things had been going so well. It scared her knowing that he was already starting to pull away, and he hadn't even regained his memories yet.

"I need to be alone for awhile." She nodded and got up to leave. She stopped at the door, looking back at the hunched figure on the bed.

"For what it is worth, I don't think you are evil. Maybe a bit misguided, but you're not a horrid person." With that she left, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

 

Thor and Jane were still in the kitchen where she had left them when she returned. She walked into the room, wiping tears from her eyes. She was still shaky from the conversation with Loki, and wasn't looking forward to another discussion with Thor. Sadly, she knew not to even hope the moment Thor stood up, his face like an open book. Worry was written all across it.

"What has happened?" She tried to wave him off, but he stood his ground.

"Loki can't remember who or what he has done, he's upset because he has figured out that I've had known all this time and haven't told him. Not to mention the fact that he has realized he is a prisoner, and has done something terrible, though thankfully not what it was." Darcy was exhausted, all she wanted to do was go to bed. Instead she leaned against the counter, hoping that it would help hold her up.

"Why have you not told him what he has done?" Darcy looked at him like he was crazy. Surely he could figure that one out on his own.

"How Thor, how do I tell him? How do you tell someone something like that? He doesn't remember who he is, and until a few minutes ago he thought he was a good man. I can't go in there and tell him what happened, I just can't. He isn't the same man he was when you first showed up in New Mexico, he isn't the same man that he was when he came here to New York. He isn't even the same man he was when we found him in the hospital.

"He's broken, he can't remember but a few shattered pieces of his life. And those pieces haven't been the best. He believes he has no home, he is lost and alone and I can't go in there and tell him….I just can't." Thor looked at her and sighed as he sat back down.

"You really do care for my brother, do you not Lady Darcy?" Darcy nodded her head, more tears forming in eyes.

"Yes, Thor, I care about him a great deal. I love that man, and I'm afraid of what will happen once he figures out what happened. I know it won't be long, he has nightmares, he screams out at night and I know it's about what happened.

"He even feels the loss of his magic. He doesn't realize that is what it is, just that there is something missing. And, God Damnit all Thor, I'm fucking scared because I know I will loose him in the end." Jane and Thor looked on as Darcy wiped tears away from her eyes. Thor stood up, crossing over to the counter to set a large hand on her shoulder.

"I understand now what Mother had been talking about. My brother's lesson was not in loosing his memories or magic, it was in you. She chose well, please do not give up on my brother, Lady Darcy."

* * *

 

Loki stood outside the kitchen door, listening to Darcy and the man he was told was his brother. So much of what they said confused him, still he understood enough to know that what he had done before he lost his memories was worse than he thought. What could he have possibly done to warrant imprisonment? And magic? A lesson given by his mother? None of it made sense.

Through all of the questions, all the thoughts running around through his head at that moment, he worked to focus on one thing, the only thing that he found could silence the doubts and worry. That Darcy loved him, that no matter what he must have done, she still loved him.


	13. Monster

It wasn't too long after their conversation in the kitchen that Thor and Jane left for the night. Darcy cleaned up the kitchen, but she barely watched what she was doing. After trying to throw away the dirty dishes instead of washing them she realized it would be better to clean up the next day, so she left everything where it was and turned out the light as she went into the living room.

For a while she just sat there in the dark, staring into space. She couldn't get her brain to shut up. Why now had Thor shown up? Why hadn't he known about Loki's memory loss? She knew he wasn't lying, Thor couldn't lie if his life depended on it. The man was like an open book, everything he thought or felt was right out there in the open for everyone to see.

After a time Darcy felt her eyes fall shut, so tired was she from the worry over Loki. She fell asleep, sliding down until she was curled up on the couch. She was so out of it, that she didn't hear the whimpering that soon turned to screams coming from Loki's room.

* * *

 

Loki shot up in bed, woken up by his own screaming. His entire body was covered in a thick layer of sweat. He gulped and panted, but he could never seem to take in enough air.

Looking down beside him, he half expected and half hoped to find Darcy there. Instead all he saw was an empty space.

He squeezed his eyes shut as image after image from his nightmare flashed across his mind. Blood, death, fear, screaming, so much screaming. He felt his breathing pick up even more, his lungs trying to take in great gulps of air, but still he felt faint. Images flashed before his eyes, ones not from his dreams, but from the first day he had met Darcy. Images of small children in hospital beds, burned, broken and bleeding. Of talks with Darcy, the hatred of Barton and the others. And then he knew, he finally knew.

Unable to take anymore, he practically leapt from his bed, running straight to Darcy's room. He could feel his panic rising when he flung open the door to find her empty bed. It had obviously not been slept in. Had she given up on him, lied to his brother, deciding that she couldn't love a man like him?

It took him a moment, but he forced himself away from her room. He checked the bathroom, the kitchen, even his room once again just to make sure he hadn't missed anything. There was no trace of her. His heart finally calmed down when he entered the living room. There she laid, sound asleep on the couch.

He hesitated a moment as he approached her, unsure about what he wanted to do. Though the memories of those children, so broken and damaged, pushed him forward. He knelt down on the floor in front of Darcy, grasping her shoulder in his hand. He shook her carefully until her eyes fluttered open.

She gave him a soft smile once she realized who was in front of her, but he couldn't make himself do the same. He could feel the burning heat of tears welling within his eyes and he blinked them away.

Realizing that something was wrong, Darcy sat up fully, her smile falling off her face.

"Loki? What's the matter? What's wrong?" The tears in his eyes scared the shit out of Darcy. He looked so lost, so damned frightened that it made her heart beat faster.

When he spoke, Loki's voice was small, like a child's. Even though he couldn't remember his past, he knew such a voice was strange for him. It felt wrong moving past his lips.

"I dreamed." Darcy's eyes went wide, had he actually remembered his nightmares? She felt guilty, was it because she had not been there to calm him, or had the appearance of Thor brought it on? Either way she didn't like it. She opened her mouth to speak, but Loki cut her off and continued on.

"I was the one to do all of that, wasn't I? The battle you told me about, the one that ruined the city, I led it? I was the man you had talked about, right? I killed all those people, put all those children in the hospital?" Darcy couldn't say anything, so shocked was she at the desperation and anguish in his voice. Finally Loki couldn't take the silence and grabbed her shoulders, shaking her more harshly than before.

"I did it, didn't I?!  _DIDN'T I?!_ " Darcy nodded, tears slipping from her eyes and down her cheeks. She watched helplessly as Loki let go of her, sinking further down on the floor, curling in on himself. His whole body shook as he muttered quietly under his breath. Darcy's chest ached as she listened to him mutter 'monster' over and over.

Unable to watch anymore, Darcy slid down beside him, taking him into her arms. Resting his head against her breast, she rocked him back and forth like a small child. Her fingers smoothed through his hair, carefully combing out the strands.

"Everything will be alright, I promise you. Everything will be alright." Loki pushed harder into her, his arms going around her waist to gather the back of her shirt in his fists. She continued to rock, every now and then placing kisses on the top of his head. Her tears were soaking his hair, but she couldn't seem to stop crying. This wasn't how she imagined he would act once he found out. Though now she wondered why, he had thought himself a good man, it shouldn't have surprised her that he would break down when he found out that he was a murderer.

After awhile he looked up to her, his body still plastered tight to her.

"How can you say I am not evil, knowing what I have done? I am a monster." More tears trickled down her cheeks, but she took a breath in. She needed to calm down for him.

"You're not a monster Loki. I may not know the whole story, but what I do know is that you were troubled. Things are never black and white, Loki." Darcy lifted a hand, wiping away a rebellious tear that had escaped Loki's eye. He leaned into her touch, his breath hitching as her fingers stroked his jaw.

"Do you remember everything from the battle?" He shook his head, his hand coming up to remove her's from his face. How could someone so beautiful stand to touch him? He tried to pull away, but Darcy used her other arm around him to hold him tighter.

"I remember some of the battle, of commanding an army. I remember blood and death, and reveling in it. Of magic, and Thor, and I remember a blue arm, but nothing more." Darcy nodded her head, not really knowing what she could say. She couldn't really justify what he had done, because it was wrong no matter why he had done it. Still, she couldn't push him away. Instead she pulled his head back to her chest, and continued to rock him while smoothing his hair.

She wondered if this was the beginning of the end. Would he remember everything soon and leave her? Or would Thor be the one to take him away? Whichever, Darcy doubted she had very much time with him left.

An hour later, legs asleep and back sore, Darcy stood up and helped Loki from the floor. Neither of them spoke as she led him to her room, the two of them curling up in her bed. Darcy held him still, her arms around his shoulders and his head resting on her chest. It took some time, but the two finally drifted off to sleep.

* * *

 

The next morning Loki returned to sitting in his chair, but he had refused to pick up his book. For a good half of the morning the two just ignored what had happened the night before. For Darcy it was because she didn't know how to handle it, and she was sure for Loki it was embarrassment at having broken down.

Darcy had just put away her laptop so she could go make lunch, when Loki finally spoke.

"I want to know everything about who I am, and what I have done." Darcy stopped in her tracks, her heart pounding again. She wanted to tell him to forget about it, that he should use his memory loss as a chance to start over, but she knew to do so would be wrong. If it been her, she would've wanted to know.

"I told you, I don't know everything. I've heard of you, but until that day in the hospital I hadn't met you. Before then I had only known your brother, and that was for only three days."

"I know. I was wondering….would you ask Thor if he would be willing to talk to me? I have to know. Please Darcy." She was stunned, but nodded her head anyway.

"Of course. I'll ask him after we have lunch, alright?" Loki tried to smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. He was at once scared and impatient to find out what his brother had to say.

Loki watched as Darcy walked into the kitchen. He wondered what would happen to them once he knew everything, once she knew everything. Would she still love him?

* * *

 

True to her word, Darcy left their apartment once she had finished eating, with the promise of bringing back Thor. She found the man in question in the common room, watching a movie with Steve.

He looked up, giving her a soft smile once she entered the room. Though she noticed that Steve give her a wary look, she figured he must have seen the video feed from the night before. She ignored him and sat down beside Thor, who turned his attention from the TV to her.

"Loki had another nightmare last night, only he remembered it." She ran a hand through her hair as both men in the room remained quiet.

"He put two and two together…damnit, he figured out he was the one that destroyed the city and put those children in the hospital. He had a breakdown last night, kept calling himself a monster. It took a long time to calm him down enough that he would go back to sleep." She dared look over to Thor, his face was pinched in worry. She continued on before he could say anything.

"He's asked if you would talk to him. He wants to know about who he is and what he has done." It was Thor's turn to run a hand through his hair, it was such a human gesture that Darcy was momentarily shocked. They were so much alike that sometimes Darcy forgot that they were aliens.

"Do you think that is a good idea, just yesterday you said…" Darcy cut him off by waving her hand at him.

"That was yesterday. It would just make things worse if you keep anything from him now that he knows."

"Alright, I'll speak to him. When should I go?" Darcy gave him a sad little smile.

"Now, actually." He nodded and stood up, his hand out to help her up from the couch. Neither spoke until they were inside the elevator.

"Are you going to be taking Loki back to Asgard?" It was the question that she most dreaded to hear the answer to. Though she knew she had to ask.

"Eventually. Mother told me that I could not return without him. In time I will be bringing Loki back home, once his lesson is learned." Darcy couldn't hold back a small sob that welled up within her. No matter what, it looked like she was going to loose him.

Thor looked down at her at the sound, his heart breaking a little for the young woman. It was strange to see a woman act the way she did towards his brother. Sure, Loki had his share of women on Asgard, some had even fallen for him. Still, none had professed it quite like Darcy had. He placed a hand on her shoulder, turning her to look at him.

"For all that you have done for my brother, I know Mother will not reward you with heartache. Things will work out in the end, I promise you this, Lady Darcy." She gave him a smile as the doors opened. Thor took a deep breath and walked out, but Darcy stayed inside. He turned back when he realized she had not joined him, his hand coming out to hold the doors open.

"Why are you not coming?" Darcy leaned against the back of the elevator, trying to look as though she wasn't about to fall apart.

"The conversation you're about to have is private. It should be between you two only. Don't worry, I'll be upstairs if either of you need me. Go, your brother needs you." Thor nodded and let the doors go before turning towards the apartment.

* * *

 

Darcy rode the elevator back up to the common room where Steve was still sitting, though now reading a book. She sat down with a huff and tried to get into whatever movie Thor had been watching, but she just couldn't stop thinking about what was happening between the two brothers.

"How do you know that Loki is being serious? He is a master liar after all." Darcy threw him a look, even though she knew he had a point. Still, her heart was breaking there, he didn't need to bring that up to bother her as well.

"I can't know, but I'm not like the rest of you. I can't spend the rest of my life doubting everyone. Always wondering if a person was lying to be, using me.

"Someone, sometime needs to put faith in Loki, and I'm going to be that person. If I get burned because of that, than that is my problem. I have a feeling, anyway, that if I get hurt it won't be because of something Loki does." No, it would be because she had been stupid enough to fall in love with him in the first place.

Steve started to say something, but Carli ran in the room just as he opened his mouth. He quickly snapped his lips shut, watching as the little girl hopped up on the couch next to Darcy. She curled up against the older woman, dancing her doll across their laps. Steve shook his head, Carli might have been young, but she understood a great deal about what was going on in the tower. He had watched several times as she searched out those who needed comfort. He sometimes wondered if she didn't have a bit of a gift herself.

* * *

 

Thor walked into the apartment to find Loki in the living room, absently flicking through a book. It made Thor pause for a moment. If not for the clothes and room they were in, he would have thought them back on Asgard many years ago. Thor couldn't count how many times he had gone to his brother's room only to find him sitting alone with a book.

"If you don't wish to talk to me, I would understand. Apparently I'm a rather evil man." Loki didn't look up from his book when he spoke. That as well was familiar. Loki always knew when someone was watching him.

"You are not evil, Brother. Things….things have happened between you and our father. You found out something that hurt you badly, and no one handled it correctly. Sure, the things you have done have been evil, but you are not an evil man."

Thor walked further into the room, sitting down on the couch when Loki didn't speak. It was silent a moment before Thor could stand it no longer.

"What is it that you want to know?" Loki looked up from his book then, his eyes focusing on him with more intensity than Thor had seen in a very long time.

"Everything."

"That will take awhile, we have lived much longer than you may realize, but I won't leave here until you are satisfied."

Loki turned in his chair to give him his full attention to him.

"Who am I?"

* * *

 

Darcy spent the afternoon and evening in the common room, coloring and playing with Carli. At one point Clint had come in looking for his daughter, he gave Darcy a soft smile but said nothing. Darcy had felt a loss in her chest at that. She really did love Loki, but she knew had she never met him there could have been something between her and Clint. She seriously hoped that he one day found a woman that would love him the way he deserved.

By midnight Thor had yet to return, and Darcy was getting worried. She was sure she would be able to hear it, even from that many floors up, if the two were fighting. Thor was not a quiet guy by any means.

Tony came into the room just a couple minutes past, looking like he had spent the week in his lab. She knew he most likely did. He was like a dog with a bone when he got an idea for a project.

He plopped down on the couch beside her and grabbed the remote, turning the channel. It took Darcy a moment to realize that she was watching the feed from her living room. That Thor and Loki were sitting there talking on the screen. The volume was down low, so she couldn't really hear what they were saying, but from what she could gather they were talking about Frost Giants and something about Loki and Odin.

She turned to Tony then, her voice incredulous when she asked; "You can just watch us from the common room?"

Tony shrugged like it wasn't a big deal. Sometimes Darcy wanted nothing more than to bash him over the head, repeatedly.

"It can be accessed from any screen in the building, well actually from anywhere JARVIS happens to be installed." Darcy wanted to yell at him, but she realized it would be futile. Tony would just smirk and tell her life was hard. The last time she had complained about something he had ruffled her hair and said in a sing song voice, Tough titty said the kitty and sauntered out of the room while Clint, Pepper and Jane yelled at him to watch his mouth around Carli.

She turned back towards the tv before grabbing the remote and shutting it off.

"I stayed up here because what they're talking about is private." Tony shrugged again, not knowing how close he was coming to having the woman beside him whack him in the back of the head with Carli's doll.

"I just thought you might feel better if you knew they weren't killing each other." All of a sudden Darcy felt bad for wanting to cause him injury….well almost bad.

"Thank you, Tony." She turned away from him and continued to stare off into space. Tony made a loud sighing noise a minute later.

"Get up, you're going to be staying in one of the spare bedrooms tonight." Darcy opened her mouth to protest, but Tony just grabbed her hand and started to pull her up.

"It's already after midnight, and by the looks of it Thor and Loki are going to be awhile. I will not have you sleeping on the couch when there are perfectly good rooms just down the hall. Plus, the couch needs to be kept open just incase I piss off Pepper." Tony stopped walking for a moment, looking back at Darcy thoughtfully.

"Which seems to be a lot actually. Still don't understand how I end up on the couch when this is my tower." Darcy just shook her head, not really up to explaining that one to the idiot. Instead she just allowed him to continue dragging her to the spare bedroom.

She thanked him when he opened one of the rooms, and went to sink into the large bed without another word. She didn't notice as Tony covered her up with a throw, giving her a smile and a shake of his head. She didn't notice when he spoke quietly to JARVIS, telling the AI that it was to wake Darcy if there was trouble between Thor and Loki, and only that. For Darcy had fallen asleep the moment her head hit the pillow.


	14. Slashed Open And Laid Bare

Darcy woke the next morning to the feeling of her mattress dipping just slightly to the left. She forced her eyes open and made herself focus on the object on the side of her bed. She gave a small smile when she saw Jane, cup of coffee in hand.

"This has to be new. Normally I'm the one shoving coffee under your nose to wake you in the mornings." Jane just rolled her eyes. Not that she was wrong, Jane couldn't count how many times she had fallen asleep over her work only to wake up and find a steaming cup of coffee pressed beneath her nose.

"Yeah, well, Tony said you were up late last night worried and thought for once I should return the favor." Darcy laughed, her voice still thick with sleep.

"So, besides the Elixir of the Gods, what are you doing here?" Jane fidgeted, she had never been able to lie or even dissemble around Darcy. Jane had yet to figure out if Darcy was that good, or if she was just that transparent.

"Thor came in at about six this morning, he said that Loki wanted you to know that you're to return home as soon as you woke." Darcy raised an eyebrow at that and sat up, leaning back against the headboard. She held out a hand, sticking out her tongue as Jane giggled at her weak attempt to grab the coffee. Jane took pity on her and placed the steaming cup in her hand.

"From what I gathered, what Thor told Loki was a lot to take in. Thor thought that he might need you. He didn't say what they talked about though, only that Loki would need you." Darcy nodded, blew on her coffee and took as large as a drink as she dared until the stuff cooled. She didn't doubt that Loki would need her, mostly after his breakdown. She almost feared what she would find when she went down there, what state he would be in.

She got up from the bed, handing the cup back to Jane, and went off to the bathroom. Loki needed her, but right now she needed something a bit more. Once finished, she entered the room again to find that Jane had yet to move. Not questioning it, she just grabbed the coffee, now sufficiently cooled, and downed the entire cup.

"I'll see you later, this…..this might take awhile." Jane just nodded at her, already figuring that no one would be seeing those two for some time.

* * *

 

When Darcy returned to the apartment, it was to find Loki right where she had left him the afternoon before. He was sitting forward in the chair, arms resting on his knees and his chin in his hands. He looked like he had a weight of the world on his shoulders.

She sat down on the couch closest to him, though what she really wanted to do was curl up in his lap, holding him tightly to her.

"Have you even gone to bed yet?" He looked up at her then, but with only a lift of his eyes.

"No, I've had too much to think about. Sleep has been the last thing on my mind." Darcy nodded, not really knowing what to say. She couldn't even begin to imagine how she would feel if she had been in his place.

"Thor is not my brother." Darcy's eyebrows shot up at that. What in the world had those two talked about? She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off with a look. It really wasn't fair that he could do that when everyone just laughed at her when she tried it.

"He isn't, not really. Not by blood anyway. We're not even of the same species." He looked up at her fully then, his eyes the most haunted that she had ever seen them.

"The blue I have been dreaming about, it has been me this whole time. I'm a Frost Giant." Well, that one was news to her. No one ever really talked to her about Loki, unless it was to tell her what an evil bastard he was.

"Alright, you're adopted, many people are. It's nothing to be ashamed of." He shook his head, his eyes boring into hers.

"You don't understand. Thor said there were other reasons, ones even he didn't know about himself, but my being a Frost Giant was one of the reasons why I did everything I have.

"I know it sounds ridiculous, but he said that on Asgard, Frost Giants are considered monsters. I grew up hearing horror stories about them, about how evil they were. I guess when I found out I hadn't taken it all that well." Ok, that was probably an understatement. He had tried to take over the planet, most kids acted out by getting a tattoo or something.

"I can understand that I guess. It must have been hard to find out you were something that your people thought of as a monster. It would be enough to break anyone." Loki ran his hands through his hair, his eyes turning down. He feared what she would do once he told her the rest. Would she go running from their rooms, unable to stand being anywhere near him?

"I have done things, evil things. According to Thor I killed my birth father, tried to destroy my birth planet, sent the Destroyer to Earth to try and kill Thor. He told me you were there that day, I could have killed you." Tears stung the backs of her eyes, she would make sure to smack Thor upside the head next time she saw him. There had been no reason for him to tell Loki that piece of information.

"The things that he told me, the things I have done on Asgard and on Earth, I don't understand how you can even look at me." Loki feared that he might break down again. To think that through his actions he almost killed Darcy. It made him want to scream.

Darcy stood up off of the couch then, going to kneel on the floor in front of him. She cupped his face in her hands, forcing him to look her straight in the eyes.

"When I look at you I don't see the man that has done all those things. Much has happened since this all began. You've changed." When it looked like he was going to talk again, she placed a single finger against his lips to stall him.

"Are you sorry? For what you have done? Do you regret it, wish you could take all of it back?" He looked at her seriously, his hand coming up to push her finger off of his mouth.

"There is no way I could regret what I have done more. If it was within my power to do so, I would undo everything I have done, undo all the pain and suffering in all realms. As it is, I do not have such a power. I will live with this guilt the rest of my life." What life he had left to live. Thor had explained what their mother had done, but Loki wondered if his punishment would be enough to satisfy their father.

Darcy smiled up at him after he finished. Tears shimmered in her eyes, but she looked as though she couldn't be happier.

"That is how I can stand to look at you, that is why I love you. An evil man would never have said those words, he never would've felt regret." She leaned up until she was face to face with him, her lips pressing lightly against his. She pulled away a second later, just far enough that she could look into his eyes.

"For what it is worth, in my eyes you are forgiven." Loki pulled her up into his arms, holding onto her tightly. He wasn't sure why she was still there, why she had forgiven him. But he wasn't about to question it.

* * *

 

Frigga smiled as she looked out over Asgard. From inside the great hall she could hear the sounds of the Court as they laughed and ate. Soon both her sons would return and with them bring a joy and light greater than anything Asgard had ever seen.

She looked over when she felt a presence beside her to see Odin. The smile fell from her face. She had not shared her bed or body with her husband since she had gone against him to send Loki away. She loved him, but she was done watching as he made bad choices regarding their sons.

"Has your plan worked?" She turned and gave him a soft, yet smug smile. She knew he had had his doubts from the beginning. He may have been angry at her for going against him, but she knew he had expected her to fail.

"It has. Loki still has one more task before he is fully restored and can return." Odin always went about things the wrong way with Loki. Both of their sons could endure a great deal of pain. It was not a physical punishment that Loki needed, but an emotional one.

"You do remember that even if he passes your little test, I have the ultimate say about whether or not Loki will be allowed to return or not?" Frigga gave him a glare cold enough to freeze a thousand suns.

"Then you better choose wisely, because you are looking at an eternity of a cold bed and an heirless throne. I have bound Thor to Loki, Thor will be unable to return without his brother. And know this, where my sons go so shall I. Even if it means living out the rest of my life as a mortal. To live and die in a blink of your eye." She turned to go, but made one last comment for Odin to think about.

"I told you not to make me choose between you or my sons. Think on this well my husband. Deny me my right as a mother and I will destroy your world."

* * *

 

When Loki woke up, it was to a pain in his back and neck, and something warm in his lap. He stiffened for a moment as he tried to figure out where he was. The last he could remember was talking to his mother in the room he had been locked in.

He opened his eyes, looking down to the sleeping woman that was curled up in his arms. He froze for a moment. There was a woman in his lap, he was sure he would have remembered falling asleep with such a beauty. His eyes drank her in, fragments of memories popping up until suddenly everything came rushing back in a torrent of images.

The drugged kiss his mother had given him, waking up at a mortal hospital without any knowledge of who he was. The memory loss, being pinned up against the hospital wall, meeting Darcy, moving in with Darcy, getting to know Darcy, the flashbacks, the nightmares, the kisses and touches, Thor coming to talk to him, to apologize though he couldn't remember him at the time. His own apology and acknowledgment that he regretted what he had done just the hours before.

He looked up to the ceiling and couldn't help the bitter laugh that left his lips. Both of his parents were real pieces of work. Though he had to admit, at least unlike Thor, he didn't have to die.

He flicked his hand in order to levitate Darcy off his lap so he could use the restroom, but nothing happened. He held back a curse when he realized he had yet to gain his powers back, just his memories.

Carefully he removed Darcy and went to take care of business, when he returned to the living room Darcy was sitting up, rubbing her eyes.

He had expected to feel nothing for the mortal woman, now that he had his memories back. Nothing but an appreciation for her beauty, but when he looked at her he still felt that tightness in his chest and sickness in his stomach. How could he still feel such a thing knowing who and what he was?

She looked over at him, giving him a bright smile. Unbidden, he remembered her words from just hours ago. She had forgiven him. Him! A creature his own world thought to be an evil monster, a man that had tried to kill and enslave her own people, and she forgave him.

Darcy stood and went over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and leaning up to give him a light kiss. The press of her kiss startled him. He knew he should feel repulsed, before everything happened he would have been. He would have thrown her off, snapped at her for daring to touch him with her filthy mouth. But he felt no urge to do so, no, her kiss sent heat throughout his body. That shocked him so thoroughly that he stood frozen in her arms, unable to respond.

After a moment Darcy realized that he wasn't kissing her back. In fact he was standing still as a statue. She pulled back, looking up at him and the strange expression on his face.

"What's wrong? Loki?" He looked down at her, at the face he had grown so accustomed to. How could any of this be happening?

"I remember….everything. My memories are back."

Darcy stood back from him, her eyes swirling with tears. He found himself wanting to step forward, to take her into his arms and comfort her. Instead he just stood there and watched as she nodded to herself, taking another step away from him.

"I see. I knew it would happen eventually. I told myself to expect this from you, hell even Clint told me it would happen. I know I was stupid, to fall in love with a man that I knew would eventually despise me." Darcy laughed at that, but the sound was anything but a happy one.

"Still, I did and I guess that is my own fault. I'm sorry…..no, you know what, I'm not sorry!" The tears in her eyes still shimmered, but the hopeless look on her face turned dark as she became angry.

"Damn it! I love you and everything I have ever said to you I have meant. Now if you will excuse me, I have some things I need to do." She quickly leaned up, gave him one last kiss and pulled back, a few tears slipping down her cheeks.

"I love you." With that, she ran from the apartment as fast as she could. Leaving Loki standing there feeling as though someone had just slashed him open and left him for dead.


	15. Worth Everything

Loki had expected Darcy to return within an hour or so. She normally would get in a huff about something and leave for awhile to cool off, but she always returned. So when a couple of hours later Thor showed up, Loki knew something was wrong.

"Why are you here? Where is Darcy?" Thor took a deep breath in, almost like he was bracing himself for a fight.

"Lady Darcy has asked me if I wouldn't mind staying with you for awhile. She informed me that she had a few things she needed to get done." Loki cursed silently under his breath and started to pace the room. She had never before asked someone to stay with him while she was out. Maybe it was because he had his memories back, or maybe it was because she wasn't returning.

"What is wrong Brother?" Loki looked to Thor, surprised that he had noticed. Thor wasn't known for being the most observant.

"Did she tell you about what had happened before she left?" Not that Loki really knew what happened himself. He always prided himself on being perceptive, picking up on the small things that most people ignored. Still, Loki found himself baffled.

"No, what happened? Brother?" Though Thor had been worried about Darcy treating his brother right, he had to admit that he also worried that his brother would hurt her. Loki could be romantic and loving, but he could also be vengeful when he wanted. Thor had seen many a lover of his brother's running out of his room in tears.

"When I woke, I found that my memories had returned. I told her this, and she…she went odd and left. I do not know what to make of it." He hadn't yelled at her, hadn't said anything that could have been considered rude. He had simply informed her that his memories had returned. Why in the Nine Realms had she gone off on him like that?

"Did you say anything that could have upset her? Anything at all? I know I have found myself, sticking my foot in it, as the Midgardians say, with Jane, and not realize it." Actually, he had found himself sticking his foot in it with Jane, Pepper, Darcy, Nat, Sif and his mother. Thor was really beginning to think he didn't know women as well as he thought he did.

"No, that is the problem. All I did was inform her of the return of my memories and she went off on me. I didn't even get a word in edgewise before she took off." Not that he would have known what to say. His silver tongue had been tarnished at that point.

"Then rest assured Brother, Lady Darcy will return, she loves you. Whatever wrong there is between you, can be fixed once she gets back." Loki hoped so, because the longer she was gone, the worse that dead feeling became.

* * *

 

It didn't surprise Darcy that she found Clint in the training room. He divided his time between there and being with his daughter. She watched him as she waited for him to notice her. He flipped and rolled, twisting this way and that as he shot arrows at various targets throughout the room. He seemed to finally notice her once he had emptied his quiver. He turned and dusted himself off before walking towards her.

"What can I do for you, Darcy?" Instead of answering, she ran to him, holding him tightly to her. She shook as he wrapped his arms around her, stroking her hair as she worked to calm down. After awhile he pushed her back enough to look her in the eyes. The cold facade he had shown just a moment ago gone.

"What's the matter Sweetheart?" His voice was soft and warm, and all Darcy wanted to do was burrow herself back against his chest.

"Get me out of here, Clint. I need to get out of the tower for awhile, please, take me away." Clint stiffened in her arms. His breathing became shallow and his face hardened. He gave her a once over before pulling away and walking over to grab a fistful of arrows. He was headed for the door when Darcy noticed what he had done.

"Stop! What the hell are you doing?" She had a pretty good idea, but still, the question begged to be asked.

"I'm going to shoot that son of a bitch, I don't care what he has done to hurt you, but I won't stand for it." Darcy shot across the room and grabbed onto his arm, It was a futile move, she knew if he really wanted to, he could pull from her grip.

"Loki didn't do anything." Clint looked at her funny, his face a mixture of anger and confusion.

"He…he's finally remembered who he is. I just can't stand to be around him now that he realizes he's been in a…I really don't know what to call it. Fuck, we only kissed and cuddled a few times…still it doesn't matter." Clint cringed when she said that, but he couldn't help the relief he felt at knowing they had never slept together.

"Please, Clint, take me away from here." A few tears had escaped, and were sliding slowly down her cheeks. Loki was a fool to throw someone as beautiful, as wonderful as Darcy away just because she was human. Clint nodded, and without another word went to gather Carli and a few of their things.

Within an hour the three of them had borrowed a plane from Tony, and were on their way to his place in Malibu.

* * *

 

It had been a week since Darcy left, leaving Thor in her stead. She had yet to return. Loki had asked Thor many times where she was, but he refused to say anything. In fact no one would say a word. This of course left Loki to come to his own conclusions, and the ones he was coming to he did not like.

He still didn't have his magic back, and he still couldn't leave the tower, but he had a pretty good idea about where Darcy was and just who was with her.

Loki was currently moping about in the apartment he was suppose to share with Darcy, pacing around the place, picking up book after book and setting them back down without ever reading a word of them. It was what he had been doing since that first day.

When the door to the apartment opened, he vainly hoped it was Darcy, but knew it was most likely Thor's Jane. He was surprised, when instead, Tony Stark walked though the door and made himself at home on the couch. Loki just stood where he was, watching him for a moment.

"And to what do I owe the pleasure of your company, Mr. Stark?" Tony burst out laughing, his arms swinging up along the back of the couch as he crossed one leg on top of the other. He looked the picture of leisure, as though he were visiting a friend and not an enemy.

"I wonder, do villains have to go to a special school to learn that? You know, how to insult and threaten and still sound perfectly polite. I just wondered, cause that would be a pretty bitchin' skill to have." Loki ignored him and just continued to stare. He was in no mood to deal with the inanity of Tony Stark.

After a couple of minutes Tony sighed. That 'I'm too cool for shit,' attitude dropping as he fully sat up, his hands clasping together on top his legs.

"Are you a total idiot?" Loki's cool was quickly beginning to fade.

"You should be glad that I don't yet have my powers back, because you would be a slug right now." Tony shook his head, though he did quirk the side of his mouth up at Loki's quip. The guy might be a grade A bastard, but he could be funny at times.

"As much fun as that would be, I think I'll stay human thank you. Anyway, no, I meant about women, because from what I've seen you are." Loki raised an eyebrow causing Tony to shake his head. Seriously, Asgardian men were idiots.

"I've watched the footage of right after you got your memories back, and I know why Darcy left." Loki didn't say anything, but he did look more interested.

"Darcy has been worried ever since she realized she loves you. Everyone has told her to be careful, that you would hurt her in the end. She began to believe it, she believed that once you got your memories back that you would realize that you've been playing house with a mortal, and throw her aside." Loki inwardly cringed at that. It wasn't really an unfounded worry. In fact he didn't understand why he hadn't felt that way. Looking back on the way he had been, what he believed, he should have been truly disgusted knowing what he had done with her.

"When you reacted cold to her, didn't hug and kiss her back, then proceeded to tell her that you remembered everything, she took that as a rejection. She may have jumped the gun, but you didn't help much when you didn't say or do anything." Loki blinked, that had to be a first for him. Normally he got himself into trouble because he had spoken, never because he had actually kept silent. It was…ironic.

"So, what should I have done, the woman was hysterical and babbling? Should I have just grabbed her and kissed her?" Tony stood up, his arms flying out wide.

"Yes, fuck yes! That is exactly what you should have done. In fact as soon as you told her about regaining your memories, you should have picked her up, thrown her down on the bed and fucked her into the mattress. Because now Darcy thinks you don't want her, and is off playing house with Clint and his daughter."

Loki growled when he heard that, he had just known that was who she was with. How he wanted to tear that mortal apart with his bear hands. Barton had been after Darcy from the beginning, playing with her emotions with his back and forth attitude towards his feelings.

"So, have you come to gloat, or what is this?" Tony let his arms fall down to his sides and gave Loki a shrug.

"No…ok maybe just a little. Still, I've actually come to help you." Tony was still Tony after all. It kind of felt good knowing that someone like Loki was just as stupid as he was when it came to women. Or so Pepper had informed him.

"Why? I thought you hated me." Tony shrugged again, his hands going to slip inside his pockets.

"I do, I wouldn't mind shooting you right here actually. Still, I like Darcy, she is a bit of a spitfire. And from what I've heard, she isn't doing very well, no matter what Clint is doing to try and cheer her up.

"Also Clint is kind of a friend, and I'm not really liking the fact that he is being used like he is.

"Now, do you want Darcy back or not?" Loki hated to admit it, but without his powers and stuck in that damn tower, he needed help. And so far Stark was the only one offering.

"Of course."

"Alright, give me a day or two, and just…just keep being all emo and mope about the apartment." With that he left, leaving Loki wondering what had just happened.

* * *

 

Darcy smiled across the table where Clint was trying to help Carli with her spaghetti. It was a shallow smile, never actually reaching her eyes. None of them did anymore. She had been in Malibu a week, and all she could think about was Loki.

Clint had done his best to help her forget, but it never worked. She felt really bad using Clint's feelings towards her against him. She knew he wanted more than a friendship, he had even made mention of it several times during the past week. Just that morning he had given her a soft kiss when they had met in the kitchen for breakfast. They needed to leave, Clint was becoming too domestic, and she knew the longer they stayed the more she would hurt him when she refused what he wanted.

She was so into her thoughts, that she hadn't noticed that Carli had left the table to go play with her dolls. When Darcy looked up, Clint had moved from his chair and was standing next to her.

"Dance with me." Darcy started to shake her head, but he wouldn't take no for an answer, and just pulled her up into his arms.

"JARVIS, some music please." Moon River started playing softly throughout the room as Clint took her by the hands. He held her close to him, dancing her across the room, softly humming to the music. Darcy tried to enjoy herself, but in the end she just leaned against Clint ashamed of leading such a perfect man on.

Clint stopped them once the piece finished, lifting her chin up and leaning down to give her a kiss that was both soft and passionate. She allowed him to, enjoying the comfort that the kiss gave, but her heart started racing when one of his hands slid down to cup her bottom and press her tightly against him. She could feel just how much he wanted her. She pulled away quickly, her face averted.

"I'm sorry….so sorry." He nodded, starting to take a step closer, but stopping before he actually touched her.

"I'm sorry too, I knew it was too early and yet I hoped since you came to me…." He sighed, running a hand through his hair. He looked so lost and in pain that it hurt to look at him.

"You need to make up your mind, Darcy. Me or him, you can't have both. I…I love you, but I will not stand by and be your backup when something goes wrong with him." Clint sighed, he hated to say it. Mostly because he knew that he was lying. He loved her, and he knew he would gladly be there for her whenever Loki did something to hurt her. He would always be waiting.

"And just so you know, when you are ready, all you have to do is come to me and I will hold on to you and never let you go. You better be certain of your choice too, because once you come to me, I mean to put a ring on that finger." Now that he wasn't lying about. He would marry her that night if she asked it of him.

Darcy watched as he made his way out of the room, most likely to get Carli ready for bed. She felt even worse. Though she wasn't sure if it was because she had been using him, or that she was seriously thinking about going to him.

* * *

 

It was three days before Tony put his plan into action. He wasn't sure it would work, but he hoped that it would. He had been watching a few of the video feeds from his Malibu house and feared what would happen if Darcy and Loki didn't make up.

He had seen the little dance three days before, heard what Clint had said. He also knew that as heartbroken as Darcy was, she could end up making a stupid mistake and marry Clint just because she believed that the man she wanted didn't want her back.

Plus they had all seen what Loki could do when he had been upset at his brother and father, he really didn't want to see what he was capable of with a broken heart. Not when it looked like Fury's little plan was actually working.

Tony pressed a couple of buttons on his computer, making a wish with each one.

"You know what to do JARVIS." Damn, if he didn't hope that this would work.

* * *

 

Darcy was curled up on her side in bed watching some inane reality show, she hadn't talked too much to Clint in the past three days. She knew it was upsetting him, but she didn't know what to do.

She wanted Loki, but she knew what he thought of mortals, and now that he remembered who he was she couldn't take the revulsion that she knew would be in his eyes. Clint was sweet, and wonderful, and she would admit that he was fuckhot, and he loved her. Hell, he wanted to marry her! Much to her own shame, she found herself actually considering it.

The tv flickering brought her out of her reverie and she was shocked to see the feed from the apartment in Stark Tower.

She sat up, watching as Loki paced the living room, back and forth, back and forth like a caged animal. After awhile he picked up the book he normally kept by his chair and threw it across the room. It landed with a crash, and she knew he had busted either a lamp or a mirror.

Loki sat down on the couch, setting his head in his hands like she had seen him do after he talked to Thor. He looked so sad, and Darcy felt her chest cramp at the sight of him.

She didn't sleep that night, she just sat there watching Loki as he paced before finally going to bed himself. She watched with her heart in her throat as he tossed and turned before the nightmares began and he started to whimper then scream as though he were being torn apart and burned.

Darcy's whole body itched to go to him, to hold him in his sleep. And when she felt a tickle on her cheek, she realized that she was crying.

For the next few days she spent most of her time in her room watching Loki, watching as he grew angry and despondent during the day, and screamed through his nightmares at night. With every day that passed the harder it was becoming to stay put, to ever see herself with Clint or anyone else.

Her choice was finally made five nights later, when in his sleep Loki kept screaming out her name before waking up gasping. She watched him destroy his room then. Breaking every piece of glass he could find, tearing apart books, even destroying the mattress.

The next morning Darcy skipped breakfast to pack her bags, not that she actually had much. She had come with only the clothes on her back, and anything else she had were things that Clint had taken her out to buy with money from Tony.

Darcy saw surprise, then disappointment and resignation in Clint's eyes when he saw her walking into the living room with her bag. Though he said nothing, just went and got his and Carli's things ready.

Neither of them had even said a word to each other when an hour later they were on one of Stark's planes.

* * *

 

Tony had been notified by JARVIS the moment Darcy had started to pack, and the moment they had hopped on the plane. He hadn't mentioned his plans to bring Darcy and Loki back together to anyone but Pepper and Thor. The latter of which had almost broke his back when he hugged him in thanks, and the former who almost broke his back in bed. The woman really was a freak. But he shook that thought off and returned to the screen before him.

He had informed Thor of Darcy's return, and he had surprisingly taken the hint and left Loki, taking Jane with him and locking them in his rooms. He knew he wouldn't really have to worry about the others, but to make sure, he had instructed JARVIS that only the screen in his room would now be able to access the video feed from the apartment.

Tony sat back against the headboard of his bed and waited. If things went well, Fury fucking owed him big time, playing fucking Mr. Waterhouse just so he could have his little Asgardian pet.

Well that was at least what Tony told himself.

* * *

 

Loki sat in Darcy's normal spot on the couch. He had a lot of time to think while Darcy was gone, and he had surprised himself at what he found out.

The anger was still there, the anger at his brother and father. The hurt over what had been hidden from him for all those years. The wanting to be seen as an equal to Thor, respected and looked up to. It was all still there, but now it was superimposed with guilt and regret. He had figured, just as he had about his feelings towards Darcy, that since he had his memories back he would no longer care about what he had done. But he found that he still couldn't get the images of those children out of his head. He realized he still meant what he had told Darcy right before he regained his memories. He regretted what he had done, he was sorry.

He wished Darcy was there now so he could tell her, tell her that she had been right. He had changed, that he wasn't the same man that had tried to take over Earth. The pain from before wasn't gone, but it was bearable. It was something he thought he could deal with, but only if Darcy was there by his side.

Loki leaned over, placing his head in his hands and remained there as he had for days.

* * *

 

Once the plane had landed, Darcy was out and in the car. She barely noticed that Tony had sent two, and that Clint and Carli had taken the other one. All she could think about was getting to Loki as fast as possible.

She was out of the car and into the Tower just as fast. She groaned as she waited for the elevator, had it always been so slow? Darcy didn't stop moving until she got to the door of the apartment. There she stopped and hesitated. She felt as though she would throw up.

"Hey, Baby Girl, get your ass in there before I come down and haul you in there myself." Darcy rolled her eyes at Tony's voice, but it seemed to be just what she needed. She took a couple of breaths and opened the door, walking in.

She stopped in the living room, looking over Loki, he looked even worse than he had on the tv. She made a noise in the back of her throat. Part sob and part gasp. He looked up at the noise, giving her a strange look before he was up off the couch and grabbing her arms, shaking her slightly.

"Where have you been?!" Darcy couldn't help it, she laughed. She had expected many different reactions from him, ranging from him yelling at her to leave to him crying. Though she had to admit the last one was maybe a bit far fetched.

"It's alright, I just needed some time away, but everything is fine now. I'm back." Ok, so maybe everything wasn't alright, but at that moment all other problems didn't exist for them.

Loki looked at her again before leaning down and taking her lips harshly with his. His kiss was much harder, more violent than Clint's, but she loved it. She dropped her bag and twined her arms around his neck. When they finally pulled back Darcy started to say she was sorry, but Loki cut her off.

"I love you. I don't want you to ever believe otherwise. I love you, and if you ever run off again I will hunt you down and chain you to my side." She laughed at that, knowing he probably wasn't joking.

"I love you too. I'm sorry I left, really sorry. And I promise that I won't ever take off again. Though if you want, we can still find a use for those chains." Darcy smirked at Loki's shocked expression before she captured his lips in another kiss.

Loki gasped in the middle of the kiss, his whole body tingled with a pleasant heat. A very familiar heat. He pulled back to look at his hand. Breathing hard, he flicked his wrist and a ball of fire appeared. Darcy watched with wide eyes as he flicked his wrist again and the fireball turned into a rose. He handed it to her and kissed her again before she could say anything.

He had his memories, he had his magic, and now he had his Darcy. He didn't need anything else for the moment. Well, maybe a bed.

Darcy groaned and nibbled on his lower lip.

Yes, definitely a bed.

* * *

 

Tony smiled, not too bad if he said so himself. Which he did. He huffed as the tv was shut off.

"Hey, I was watching that." Pepper laughed, tossing the remote across the room even though she knew JARVIS could just turn it back on.

"I think it is high time that they are allowed some true privacy." Tony nodded his head, turning in the bed so he was facing Pepper.

"Yeah, suppose so. I've already ordered JARVIS to disconnect the cameras and microphones once that screen was turned off. If Fury wants to play Peeping Tom he will have to try and bug the place himself." Tony smirked at that. The man could try, but nothing could get by JARVIS.

Pepper laughed, sitting on the edge of the bed to give him a kiss.

"You're such a softy sometimes." Tony looked offended at that. Him? Soft? Never!

"I'll show you  _soft_." Tony gave a wicked smirk and rolled Pepper over, pinning her to the bed.

Maybe Fury won't owe him that much.

* * *

 

Frigga smiled, letting out a soft laugh as she walked into her bed chamber. Life would soon return to normal. Both of her sons were loved and the halls of the palace would soon be filled with the laughter that had always been meant to be there.

A noise at the doorway caught her attention and she turned to see Odin standing there watching as she readied herself for bed. She was in such a wonderful and forgiving mood that she smiled at him, holding out her hand.

Both knew what taking it would mean. A concession, a forgiveness, and an acceptance of all that had been done and what was to come. Odin sighed, walking forward and grasping her hand in his. He pulled her to him, burying his nose in her fragrant hair as he held her tightly to him.

"We should never fight again." Frigga laughed, her own arms coming round to wind about his waist.

"You always say that, but every hundred years or so you always do something stupid and end up sleeping in your study." There was never a greater truth told, Odin thought. Of course no matter who was in the wrong, he was always the one that ended up locked out of their chambers.

Odin laughed, kissing the top of her head. He may have been angry at her usurping his command, undermining him, but that was something to deal with another day. He might have been a great king, but he knew sometimes he lacked when it came to being a father and husband. But that was why he had Frigga, she always knew how to put him in his place.

He may not like playing by her rules for a time, but at least he would have a chance at having his family back. And that was worth everything.


	16. Epilogue

It was two years later, and Darcy couldn't believe where everything had taken her. Things hadn't been all gumdrops and lollipops after she returned from Malibu. Her and Loki had a lot of issues to deal with. Everything from the fact that Loki had destroyed New York and caused the deaths of so many, to the fact that Darcy had left with the intention of getting together with Clint that night. But they both dealt with those issues and came out better for it.

Clint was another matter all together. For the longest time after they returned he had made himself scarce around the Tower, Darcy had even heard from Tony that he had been thinking about moving out. It had been Pepper and Jane's quick thinking and offer as babysitters for Carli that kept him there in the end.

It hurt Darcy that she had hurt him so much, and even to this day she felt the loss of what might have been. She was happy with her life, so very in love with Loki, but yet she did often wonder what would have happened if she had fallen in love with him.

Darcy smiled, over the past six months things had finally turned around for Clint. Fury had sent him on a mission to protect a woman that SHIELD wanted for an asset. She had….certain skills that Fury wanted. Unfortunately he wasn't the only one and Clint had been sent. Sometimes Darcy thought that Fury had a bit of matchmaker in him as a couple of months later Clint returned from his mission with Dyanna Carr, SHIELD's newest asset and Clint's new girlfriend.

Darcy liked Dy, the woman was older than her at thirty-one years, but she was sweet. And she knew how to deal with Clint's shit, and never failed to call him out on it. But the ultimate test was Carli. Dy and Carli got on like white on rice. Darcy really didn't think it would be long before Clint put a ring on her finger and a child in her belly.

As for what happened with Loki and SHIELD. At first he hadn't wanted anything to do with Fury, partly out of the awkwardness of it and partly because Loki had found out about Fury's plan. In the end, after months of waking up screaming from nightmares and the memories of the children in the hospital, Loki contacted Fury with his decision to help.

Though it also could have been because of a new over the top villain that had tried to take over New York, and had threatened both Darcy and Jane when they had been out shopping one afternoon.

Nevertheless, Darcy was under no illusions that since Loki had turned over a new leaf and had kicked the evil habit, that he had also stopped his trickster ways. The guy had to have at least one vice.

Of course allowing that vice had caused an all out prank war between him and Tony. They were still cleaning up the Tower several months after a truce was called.

Darcy breathed in the clean air around her. No, life might not have been rainbow puppies from the get go, but life now was sure close to it. And just to add to it was the fact that she was in Asgard.

A month ago The Warriors Three had shown up at the Tower to inform Thor and Loki that their presence was required, and that the Queen and requested they bring their Ladies with them.

Darcy had been shocked and yet pleased that Loki had been included in the invite and not as a side note. It had taken awhile, but once everything was settled with SHIELD the four of them had set out for Asgard.

They had been there for a week, and Darcy still couldn't believe it. It was a beautiful place, and Frigga, as the Queen had requested they call her, was the sweetest woman she had ever met. Odin on the other hand. She could easily see why Loki had problems with him. The man was insufferable! He was kind enough to them, but he had not really taken to his sons dating mortal women.

Thor had been in a constant fight with him since the day after they arrived. Both Thor and Loki had made their intentions to marry her and Jane known and Odin had refused. Frigga had just shook her head, gave Loki a look and left the room with an elegant huff.

Even from the garden in which Darcy now sat, she could hear as Odin and Thor argued over their right to marry whom they so choose.

A tap on her shoulder caused Darcy to turn around. Loki stood behind her, smile spread from ear to ear. He had been up to something.

"What did you do?" Darcy couldn't help the resigned note to her voice, she knew it wouldn't take him long before he got into mischief. She just hoped it wouldn't end up with him stitched up or something.

"What did I do? My Dear, it is as if you don't have any faith in me. A poor trait in my future bride indeed." Loki tsked and Darcy couldn't help but laugh. Even when he was being naughty she loved him, especially when he was naughty actually.

"Loki, really, you didn't do anything to Odin's eye patch again have you?" He shook his head and came to sit down beside her, his hands behind his back. She raised a brow and tried to look behind him, but he just kept turning so she couldn't make out anything.

"Come on, what is behind your back?" Loki laughed and leaned in enough to whisper into her ear.

"Guess." She giggled and shook her head. He was incorrigible.

"Loki!" He winked at her and settled in closer.

"Alright, ruin the fun. Still, you remember how Odin said that we couldn't marry you two because you're not immortal?" How could she forget? The man had actually said mortal like one would say puppy or kitten.

"Yes….." The smile on Loki's face became an evil little smirk as he pulled the object from behind his back and placed it in front of her face.

"Well, we will just have to make you immortal then." Darcy's eyes widened as she took in the large golden apple. Closer and closer he brought the fruit to her lips until they rested against her mouth.

Darcy looked over and saw the worry and doubt in his eyes and she didn't hesitate to open her mouth and bite into the juicy flesh.

"Forever and a day, my Love." Darcy's answer was to take another bite and another until nothing but the core was left. Loki reached behind him and pulled out another apple and nodded toward Jane a few yards away. Darcy's smile grew as large as his as she pulled him up and ran for Jane.

Sometimes his mischief paid off in big ways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are several scenes that never made it into the story that I've written up. I will be posting them sperate most likely tomorrow or sometime this weekend.

**Author's Note:**

> A quick note here on this story, after this chapter Loki will seem rather OOC, but it is a plot driven OOCness, you will understand in a few chapters. It will be done for the sake of the story, and not ignorance on the character.
> 
> Disclaimer:  
> All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.


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